DBS - Room to Grow
by MattHunX
Summary: Sequel to my DBZ fic "From a Different Path." The continuation of my OC, Beranise's story during the events of Super, including Gohan-bashing, baby-sitting, training and the Tournament between Beerus and Champa.


**DBZ - Room to Grow  
**

In Other World warriors gathered to hone their skills, even in the afterlife. Most hoped they would reach a level that was worthy of the Grand Kai's attention, while a few merely took advantage of the melting pot that was his planet, where righteous martial artists, of all races, from all corners of the universe came together to test themselves and learn from those around them. It was here Goku could ascend to a level everyone believed was the strongest they would ever see, rivalled only by Majin Buu. The peculiar and unpredictable incarnation of evil that even visited the plain of existence, only to be lured away by the might of a pair of Saiyans, who were, now, reaching far higher on the scales of power than they had ever dreamed of. Their training overseen by the Attendant of the God of Destruction himself. Another Saiyan, however, was left out, by sheer bad timing. First, having missed meeting the beings of power, then the chance to be trained by them. A case of being in the wrong places, in ever more exciting times. Now, she was making up for it, by training in the only realm, barring the Hyperbolic Time Chamber that could give her the means to keep reaching higher, as well.

"Are you kidding me!?" A Super Saiyan 2 Beranise angrily yelled at the voice in her head, as she stood, hands on her hips, with several tons of training-weight on her limbs that were materialized by the Kais. Three of them nervously watched her talking to a fourth, after kicking the strongest of warriors to the ground, all of who were sprawled around her, either stunned to silence or unconscious.

"I-I'm sorry!" King Kai was sweating, profusely, literally feeling the female Saiyans irritation from the Grand Kai's planet, all the way to his small, humble home. "There wasn't enough time to reach you. And you couldn't have made it to Earth in time, anyway. Even Goku and Vegeta got there in the last second, before things turned _really_ ugly."

"So, Frieza's back in Hell, then?" Beranise was understandably upset, having missed a miracle, once-in-a-life-time opportunity at revenge.

"Well, I'm...not really sorry to say, but, yes." King Kai made it clear it was all for the better and even though Beranise understood the universe was better off with Frieza being dead, again, it was not completely satisfying. She also knew it was selfish of her to think about it like that, but she was equal parts do-gooder and a force of vengeance. Two different principles that would have usually been opposed to each other, in some ways, driving one person.

"And you're saying he's on the same level as those two knuckle-heads, now!?" Beranise was also annoyed with that particular situation.

"Well...almost. The only reason they could beat him, was because Frieza wasn't really used to his new form." King Kai replied.

"It's bad enough I missed out on this Beerus guy and now _this_? And to top it all off, I got left behind! In more ways than one." Beranise noted.

"I'll be sure to give you a heads up, the next time he goes to Earth. And get Goku to pick you up." King Kai offered his assistance. "I guess, Other World didn't work out for you."

"Oh, it worked me out." Beranise could not say it was not worth it. "Just not enough." she added, as the likes of Olibu and Pikkon were still picking themselves up from where she put them. "Speaking of which..." Beranise turned towards the tallest of the other Kais. "Hey, South Kai, how 'bout some more weight, here!?" she yelled and the man leaned back in shock, even though he was at a distance.

"More!? B-but...!" he could not believe she could handle heavier ones.

"You heard me!" Beranise told him, defiantly.

"Fine." he muttered. "Sheesh, she's more of a handful than that Goku." he commented, having flashbacks of the time he observed him using the same method of training, unintentionally scaring his newest pupil away, along with himself. Behind him, West Kai swallowed a lump in his throat.

"I don't think my guys could take, anymore!" he worried about his own warriors, as even his strongest was incapacitated. Pikkon barely stood, and gritted his teeth, shielding himself, as the new weights were materialized onto Beranise's limbs, who powered further up to bear them, blowing dust on all she defeated.

"Oh, my! She's absolutely amazing!" East Kai adjusted her shades. "Now, which quadrant would you say she belongs to, hm?" she smiled, deviously. Despite her clear origins, Beranise did not claim to hail from any particular part of the universe.

"Hey, don't even think about getting her on _your_ team!" West Kai snapped out of his worrying to warn her. "And besides, she's still alive." he pointed out.

"Well, if she's like that Goku, that won't be the case for long." she pointed out, as they continued to observe her.

"She won't _stay_ for long, either, even if she bites the dust. The way they keep using those Dragon Balls." South Kai argued, as Beranise kicked and punched around, quickly getting used to the added weight and from the balcony of his palace, the Grand of the Kai's laughed to himself.

"Looks like I'm gonna need a heck of a lot more than 10000 years to whip myself back into shape, if she, Goku and Pikkon are gonna be standin' in line for me to train' em." he said to himself.

(Elsewhere)

"Goku...Vegeta! I told you two to keep it...DOWN!" an annoyed Beerus hurled a purple energy blast at the two, while rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes, as he shuffled along the garden path to his Attendant.

"Rough morning, my Lord?" Whis greeted him, turning from watching the Saiyans run for their lives in their weighted training gear.

"Don't get smart with me, Whis! Especially since I can tell you've already had your compensation for bringing these two, here, again!" Beerus wiggled his nose, being able to smell the sweetness of whatever delicious dessert he had, without his knowledge. He accusingly leaned closer to the much taller man, who was guilty as charged.

"Well, I didn't want to interrupt your sleep. I know how you get when you're groggy." Whis gave a perfectly transparent answer.

"And yet you brought the Saiyans, here. It's almost as if you knew they would wake me, anyway." Beerus glared at him.

"Oh, I'm hardly capable of such foresight, my Lord." Whis replied, with a hint of amusement and Beerus growled at him, as Goku and Vegeta ran up to them.

"Uh, he-hey, morning, Lord Beerus!" Goku smiled and got a smack in the back of the head from Vegeta, who stood next to him. "Oh, I mean, good morning!" Goku said and bowed.

"Good morning, Lord Beerus!" Vegeta did, as well.

"Speaking of foresight, it would behoove us to start looking for three more fighters-..." Whis said and Beerus made a cautioning noise. "Oh, I mean, _two_ more fighters for this tournament you agreed to. I'm certain your brother is frantically searching the 6th Universe for its strongest warriors, as we speak." Whis suggested.

"Well, the only place we can really go to is Earth. And with this Monaka guy you're bringing, we'll need two of our friends to fight." Goku said.

[...]

Back in Other World, a small, old woman with purple hair, dressed in a black robe and pointed hat, was flying on a crystal ball, followed a living soul.

"I thought King Kai told you he would call you, if something came up. So why come to me?" Baba was saying to Beranise, who sought her out.

"I wasn't just gonna wait around until they'd drop me a line from who knows where. I wanna be there the next time they meet with this god. That could be years from now or tomorrow, for all I know." Beranise replied.

"Well, I'm not complaining. This is certainly better than the last time I had to escort someone. At least, my life is not on the line. I hope." She recalled taking Vegeta back to Earth to fight Majin Buu. They soon crossed over and were flying in Earth's sky and the first city came into view through the clouds.

"Here were are! You take care, now!" Baba bid Beranise goodbye and disappeared from whence she came.

"Huh?" Beranise cocked her head, sensing a familiar energy, but one that was considerably weaker than what she remembered. She also anticipated a new one. Belonging to a new life, in the form of a quarter-Saiyan girl. She giggled as she recalled seeing Videl when she was still expecting the child.

[Flashback]

"Hoo-ooh!" Beranise gasped and gaped as she dashed up to Videl, not believing the baby-bump she developed over the few months she visited the Earth." You're...!?" She put a hand on it, bending down in front of her. "Wow." she whispered, then stood, leaning closer to her face, grabbing her shoulders. "Is it mine?" she grinningly asked. Videl pulled her head back, giving her a weird look, as did Gohan, from behind them.

"Sure." Videl told her, smiling sarcastically.

"Damn it!" Beranise said to the side, letting go of her.

[End of Flashback]

In the middle of the rush-hour, Gohan was on his way home to his wife and daughter, patiently waiting for the traffic to move. He sighed, then raised his head back up, when he sensed a familiar energy. The road just began to clear when all cars pulled to a screeching halt and silence fell. No horns were even sounded, because all the drivers were too stunned to use them, as a woman came from the air and landed in the middle of them. Gohan was staring and slowly turning his head to follow her, as she walked up to his car's window, bending down to look inside. She stopped and stared at him with a deep frown on her face, almost as if she did not recognize him.

"What the hell is going on?" Gohan blinked at her question, before Beranise grabbed him by his tie and pulled his head out. "Who're _you_? And why are you driving around in this thing?"

"What? What're you..?" Gohan could not immediately tell what her problem was, but her next question made it clear.

"Did you slack off so much you forgot how to fly or something, boy?" Beranise pushed him back into the seat. She bent further down and lifted one side of the car, looking for purchase with the other hand.

"Hey, what're you _doing_?" Gohan yelled, as she knelt.

"I'm gonna remind you…how to fly!" She picked up the car and held it above her head. Gohan could tell she was seriously going to send him flying across the city in it.

"Stop it!" He opened the door, floated out and pressed a switch that returned the car to its capsule-form. "Are you crazy?" He tried to keep his voice down.

"Are _you_?" Beranise shot back. "Could you've even survived it, if I tossed you through a building in that? I doubt it, they way are, now. What the hell happened? You were, like, _two leagues_ above me, when we met." Beranise held up her index and middle fingers to show the number. Gohan glared at her, but on the inside, he knew she was right about him losing the power he once had. "And now I'm hearing Frieza almost killed you in his _weakest_ form." Gohan looked surprised she already heard about it in such detail.

"He was a lot stronger than before." Gohan stated, but he was not trying to make excuses.

"And why weren't _you_? If you had been on the same level you used to be, you could've, at least, put _some_ fight. Maybe one of your friends wouldn't have needed to step in and get killed to save your sorry ass! And you could've sent your dad an energy-signal to follow, without nearly dying from trying to transform, even if you _were_ full of holes!" she berated him and every sentence stung.

"I know that!" Gohan balled his fist. Beranise did not even know the worst of it. That Frieza actually destroyed the Earth, along with all their families and friends, but Whis reversed time, so Goku could rectify his mistake and learn a lesson about the price of leniency.

"Oh, great! Hey, maybe this Great Saiyaman I keep hearing about could do a better job! Not!" she mocked him.

"Did you come all the way just to yell at me?" Gohan asked, even though he felt he deserved it.

"Well, I wasn't gonna! But, then I got told one of the strongest people I've ever met nearly died to Frieza, before the real fight even started. I didn't wanna believe it, even if Frieza _had_ gotten stronger. And then I come back here and the first thing I feel is _your_ pathetic energy." Gohan could hardly appreciate the one small complement in all she had said.

"Well, whaddoyou want from me!?" Gohan asked.

"To get your ass back in shape! What happens if someone like Frieza shows up? Hell, they don't even have to be even nearly as strong. You still couldn't beat 'em! Who's gonna protect your wife and kid, huh? You!?"

"Look, I already promised Piccolo I would get back to it. And have him train me, like he used to. I swear." He did not have to swear anything to her, but he was really swearing to himself.

"Then whaddoyou say I...kick-start your ass." Beranise took a threatening step towards him and rushed, driving a fist into Gohan palm, while going Super Saiyan. He caught it in the palm of his, then the other one and they stood locked into a struggle in the middle of the street, with drivers and pedestrians either gawking at them or running in terror.

"We can't do this, here!" Gohan told her.

"Then let's go somewhere… _private_!" Beranise pressed into him, then flung him around, launching him into the air, above the city. Gohan could have slowed himself, but he climbed higher to get farther away from the streets and buildings. He did not get too far, before Beranise caught up with him and started a flurry of attacks that kept pushing him to the outskirts of the city and into the more rural parts and green pastures. He matched her speed and strength and countered her as best he could, but his technique and stamina was faltering with every passing minute.

[…]

"Uh?" Buu looked up from his comic book at Hercule's Mansion.

"What's wrong Buu?" Hercule noticed something got his attention and his grand-daughter fortunately stopped tugging on his beard, as well and Videl carefully pried her incredibly strong little hands away from it. All three of them looked at Buu, waiting for a response.

"Gohan!" Buu said.

"Gohan?" Videl got alarmed. "W-what about him? Did something happen to him? Is he in trouble?"

"Buu don't think so. Gohan fighting." Buu stated as if that was not cause for worry.

"Fighting!?" Videl repeated, becoming more distraught and Pan looked up at her mother.

"Fi-fi...?" she tried saying the word.

"Oh, it's okay. Sssh." Videl rocked her in her arms, then looked back at Buu. "What do you mean he's fighting? Fighting who?"

"Hmm." Buu concentrated. "Saiyan girl. Gohan fighting Saiyan girl!" Buu smiled.

"What? Beranise is here? But, where are they?" Videl asked.

"Mmh." Buu was thinking and turned. "That way." he pointed in the general direction he felt their energy from.

[…]

Back on the fields a Super Saiyan Gohan was quickly getting worn down, as he managed to barely hold his own against the woman who was not cutting him any slack. His clothes were torn in places and he was out of breath, panting.

"Tch." Beranise made a sound and frowned at him in disappointment. "Look at you! It's only been a few minutes and you're already losing your energy. You should be mopping the floor with me, but you can't even stand up to me!" she told him, not showing any signs of fatigue, unlike Gohan, who could only manage to keep fighting through considerable effort.

"You're not exactly winning!" he retorted.

"Hmph." Beranise scoffed and raised her fists. She leaned forward and started to scream. Almost literal flames burst forth from her. Her energy flared and as the winds pushed, large waves lashed the shorelines, miles away, while the Earth shook. Gohan speechlessly stared, his jaw going slack from the level of energy he only ever felt from his father and did so all the way from the sacred planet of the Kais. To his further astonishment it did not stop rising and was surpassing the level he and his father both had at the last tournament, only a few years ago.

"No way..." he whispered as Beranise's hair reached the back of her knees and she narrowed her browless eyes at him, her dark-green pupils digging into him from afar, as two bangs of hair were hanging in front of them. The power he once possessed was staring back at him.

"What's the matter, boy?" Beranise spoke, her voice sounding rougher. She moved to within an inch of Gohan's face, who first jerked back from the suddenness of it, then farther back from Beranise's forehead hitting his. He tried to steady himself, as his vision became blurry for a few seconds, though no blood was drawn.

Higher above them, a figure stopped in the air to observe them, his white cape blowing in the wind.

"Hmph. Why I am not surprised." Piccolo muttered, as he folded his arms, having felt and followed their energy. He was well on the way when one of them suddenly eclipsed the other, making him feel both impressed and disappointed. He noticed a luxurious car speeding towards them, then slowing down as it neared. The doors opened in the back and Hercule jumped out one side. Videl stepped out, holding Pan, on the other. The roof window slid open and Buu poked his head and half his rubbery torso through.

"Gohan!" Videl worriedly walked towards him. "What's going on!?" she asked, noticing the state he was in, then turning towards Beranise, who she thought looked rather intimidating in her new form. It immediately changed when the latter spotted the toddler in her arms and she forgot all about beating some sense into Gohan by beating him senseless. A familiar scene took place, as Beranise sped towards Videl. She slowed down and carefully landed, in front of her, watching the force of her movements and came closer, beholding her daughter with starry eyes. Giddiness was certainly unusual from her and Videl was already feeling strange enough seeing her husband clearly beaten up, with the person responsible swooning over her daughter.

"Hi...hi..." Beranise whispered to Pan, trying not to grin too much, fearing that baring her teeth might frighten her. Pan stared at her, completely unsure of what to make of the new person. Beranise snapped out of the spell she was under and turned to look at Gohan. "You want some motivation that doesn't include me kicking you around? Here you go!" She thumbed at his wife and daughter, then had a hair-brained idea. "Maybe I'll _take your wife_!" Videl stepped back in surprise and Gohan raised a brow. "Yeah, that's it!" Beranise folded her arms. "I'll take her from you! And when you get strong enough, you can get her back!" she told him.

Pan did not seem to like her idea, though. She made a few angry noises and grabbed ahold of Beranise hair, from the side, pulling her down. "G'hey! Ow! Oww! Hey! Stop!" she exclaimed, but Pan kept pulling and made threatening sounds. "Stop it! I-I was only...kidding! Ow! I would never do anything bad to your mom! Come on!" Beranise pleaded with her. Videl could not help but slowly smile at the two and Pan seemed to relax, after hearing her mother's quiet chuckle. She let go of Beranise's bush-of-a-hair and the latter took a carefully step back, then turned towards her and started laughing almost maniacally. She leaned closer to Pan, no longer having to be concerned about scaring her.

"You're a tough little thing, aren't you?" She grinned at her and stood, giggling. "She's a little power-house!" she gleefully told Videl and leaned back down. "You're gonna grow up and kick everyone's butt!" Pan smiled and grabbed her two bangs. "Uh, h-hey, now..." Beranise nervously said, as she thought she would start with her. Pan joyfully played with her bangs, instead, twisting them around, as if they were controls. Videl and Gohan both looked on and the latter slowly descended from the air to join them, reverting to normal. "Oh, you like my hair, huh? Well, guess what? If you get big and strong, you can have hair like this, too!" she told Pan, who paused and gave her an excited squeal, then continued her game. Videl looked up as Gohan approached them.

"Are you okay?" she asked and Pan also turned from her new favorite activity. Beranise stood, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah. I'm fine." he assured her and looked at Beranise, who was giving him unapologetic silence.

"What was the point of all this?" Videl was still upset they fought. "Was it really necessary?" She looked at Beranise.

"It was." Gohan spoke, much to Videl's surprise and Beranise was not expecting him to ask for an apology. "It's not really any part of my body that's hurting." Gohan added and Beranise gave a skeptical ' _hmph'_ , as she could tell his head was still hazy. "I needed this." Gohan stated.

"I'd say." Gohan turned to see Piccolo behind them.

"Piccolo...how long have _you_ been..." Gohan trailed off and faced away from him. "I guess if I have to ask, it's already a bad sign." he admitted.

"This was the last wake-up call. Frieza was the first. And there won't be another." Piccolo firmly told him. A third strike and he was out.

"No. I won't let it happen, again!" Gohan swore. "This was the second time I abandoned my training. And you nearly died, because of it." he told Piccolo, with a pause and turned to Beranise. "And if you had been an enemy...well." He did not have to imagine what utter defeat felt like, having experienced it several times. Death was a different thing.

"You're going back to boot-in-your-ass camp." Beranise said and Videl cleared her throat. "Sorry!" Beranise whispered to her and Pan.

"Boo-boo...boo-iii-o-asch...!" Pan tried to say the words and Videl had a worried look, then looked at Beranise.

"Uh-oh." she gave Videl a nervous glance, hoping for her own sake Pan would not be able to repeat all she hears, anytime soon.

"We can start this afternoon." Piccolo told Gohan.

"Alright." Gohan nodded.

"Get some rest. Then meet me at the cliffs." Piccolo said and took off.

"Well, I guess we won't be wasting another day." Gohan commented.

[...]

"Shall we leave for planet Earth, then? Perhaps Lady Bulma have already prepared some new Earthly delicacies for us." Whis said to Beerus, who nodded.

"So, do we go by Instant Transmission? I can look for someone's energy." Goku concentrated for a moment. "Hmm? Weird."

"What?" Vegeta asked.

"I could've sworn I sensed someone at least as strong as a Super Saiyan 3, but it's gone now." Goku looked perplexed.

"Buu?" Vegeta asked.

"No. Wait. I can still sense _him_. But, then it's gotta've been someone else." Goku thought.

"Like who? It couldn't have been _Gohan_." Vegeta told him, criticizingly.

"I believe it was your new friend. The Saiyan woman." Whis said, as he was looking into his staff.

"Beranise? Then she's already got to Super Saiyan 3? Wow! She's faster than we were. Well, faster than I was, anyway." He looked at Vegeta, who glared at him. "Before we met you and Lord Beerus." Goku added, looking at them.

"Indeed. She seems to be progressing at an impressive rate." Whis commented.

"And _we_ should be _progressing_ to Earth." Beerus reminded them. "And you're probably just glad you have another candidate to take my place, isn't that right?" he asked Whis.

"Of course not, my Lord! But, if it ever comes to that, no one will be more thrilled by the challenge than you, my Lord. Present company excluded." Whis said, glancing at the Saiyans, who would relish such a fight as much as the God of Destruction would and the latter had to silently admit he was right.

"I'll just follow Buu, then." Goku said, placing his index and middle-finger to his temple. "Got him. Grab on!" he said. Vegeta placed a hand on one of his shoulders, while Whis did the same and Beerus held onto the latter.

[…]

"Aaiiiee!" a couple of models screamed, inside a limousine, along with Hercule, when Goku, Vegeta, Whis and Beerus popped into the back seat, across from them.

"Hiya!" Goku grinned, while Vegeta grumbled.

"Oh, my!" Whis placed a hand over his mouth, while Beerus looked utterly unfazed by the awkwardness of the situation and had a mild glare he was specifically directing at Buu. The latter returned it.

"Heh, sorry to pop in! I just needed to follow a strong enough energy and Buu's was the easiest to find. I could feel Beranise for a little while, too. But, then it was gone. You know where she is?" Goku rambled.

"Um, eh, she took Videl and Pan home. Uh, flying." Hercule gathered himself. "Buu and I are just, uh, took a little, uh, trip." he added, glancing at the still frightened models, though neither Goku nor Vegeta had any care for him flouncing around with them.

"Well, we're definitely gotta talk to her, too. We got something really exciting to tell you." he announced and Buu got intrigued. "We'll start here, then we can talk to Krillin and Piccolo."

"And the She-Saiyan?" Beerus asked.

"Of course!" Goku nodded. "We talk to the others, first. Then we'll find her. Hopefully she won't take off into space, again." Goku said.

"It looks like she is at Miss Videl's house." Whis peered into his staff, again, to the confusion and amazement of Hercule and all the women.

"I-I…need to get one of those…" Hercule leaned closer to the staff.

"She's probably looking for the strongest fighter on the planet to train with." Vegeta started. "It's not Gohan, anymore! _Buu_ is stronger than him, these days and _he's_ only a threat to cake-make!" he derided both, but Buu laughed it off.

[...]

Videl left Pan in Beranise' care to finish household chores and she was comfortably washing the dishes, when entire building shook. She steadied herself and ran outside, stopping in the doorway, as Beranise flew by, with her long golden mane trailing behind her. Videl stared after her to see her round the corner. After a few seconds, she glanced behind her, as Beranise came flying from the other end, having gone around the whole house, making several laps.

"Um..." Videl started as Beranise passed her and circled the building, once more. "Beranise?" Videl called after her as she flew by, again and Beranise stopped in mid-air. She floated back and landed in front of her. "Where's Pan?" Videl asked her, not seeing her daughter with her. Beranise put her hands on her hips and smiled, looking up. Her mane parted, as Pan climbed out of it and gleefully smiled at her mom, then turned almost upside down to smile at Beranise, who grinned at her. Videl warmly smiled at the scene.

"Could you...stay and play with her a little more?" she asked Beranise. "Just until I get everything done."

"Can I!" Beranise exclaimed and looked up at Pan, who gave a joyful sound.

[...]

Around dusk, Goku and Gohan arrived in front of the latter's house, via Instant Transmission, accompanied by Whis and Beerus. Gohan was exhausted from his training with Piccolo, his fatigue was evident in his first few steps.

"We'll wait, here. We do not wish to intrude." Whis stated.

"Make it quick!" Beerus told them, placing his hands behind his back and Vegeta folded her arms.

"Weird. Why would she be powered up like that?" Goku scratched his head, having followed Beranise's energy. Gohan opened the front door and cautiously stepped inside, sensing her close, even half-expecting an ambush. Instead, he found her lounging on the sofa, in front of the television, arms crossed, with Videl sitting next to her, pouring over some magazine for new mothers. She looked up at saw him.

"Gohan!" she exclaimed and stood, walking a few paces to meet him halfway into the hall, as she looked him over. He smiled at her, then glanced around.

"Where is Pan?" he asked, then heard rustling and looked towards Beranise to see his daughter poking her head out from her hair.

"Papa!" she happily exclaimed, reaching for him.

"Hey, kid! How was boot camp?" Beranise asked and Gohan, too, took a second to appreciate the adorableness of the moment, then looked at her to reply.

"Kinda worse than I thought it'd be." Gohan sighed and Videl gave him a concerned look. "Hey, it's okay. I've been through tougher training with him when I was _five_." he smiled and Videl stared, taking his word for it.

"What? Was your dad too soft on you, so you went to him?" Beranise looked at Goku, who was still standing in the entrance and got up to walk over to Videl and Gohan.

"Actually, he and Piccolo were still enemies, then. He died, taking down my, uh, _uncle_ …with his help. And then...Piccolo...took me." Gohan had to mind his phrasing, not succeeding in making the story sound any less awkward. Goku let out a nervous laugh.

"You mean he _kidnapped_ you?" Videl asked, taken aback and Beranise stared.

"Ki...kigh..." Everyone looked at Pan, as she tried to say the word.

"Sssort of." Gohan knew it perfectly qualified as kidnapping.

"I'm never going to get used to hearing all of this, am I?" Videl asked, mentally feeling at the end of her capacity to digest the stories.

"Probably not." Gohan smiled.

"Pa...papa...pa!" Pan was reaching for him, again and Beranise slightly bent down, letting her climb from her hair over to Gohan's shoulder, who took hold of her with both hands to keep her from falling.

"You're pretty used to that form, aren't ya?" Goku asked, somewhat excited, more impressed, almost sounding like he wanted to spar right there.

"She likes my hair." Beranise beamed at Pan. A gesture that was uncommon from her and one that would have looked strange just in her normal state, never mind as a Super Saiyan 3. Pan made a sound of agreement.

"You wouldn't be trying to stay with it, just for that." Goku smirked, figuring there was more to it. That Beranise was essentially doing the same thing he and Gohan did with the plain Super Saiyan form, perfecting it. Gohan realized it, as well, staring at her, for a second. Beranise's only reply was a slightly smug smirk. Pan was smelling Gohan and scrounging up her little nose.

"Oh, right. I should probably take a shower." Gohan said. Beranise pretended to shudder, as Gohan handed Pan over to Videl and headed to the bathroom.

"So, his highness won't even come in?" Beranise asked Goku and Videl looked puzzled.

"Huh?" she looked between them.

"Oh, that's right. Vegeta tagged along. We were recruiting fighters for a tournament." Goku said.

"Were?" Beranise put her hands on her hips.

"S-sorry! But we kinda filled all the spots." Goku apologetically rubbed his head. "We could only pick two people, besides me and Vegeta. Lord Beerus is bringing some guy named Monaka. He told me he's even stronger than any of us!" he exclaimed.

"I also told you to hurry it up!" Goku heard Beerus from outside. Beranise raised a brow.

"T-that's him." Goku nervously smiled. "Come on, I'll introduce you!" he motioned with his hand for Beranise to follow. "Sorry, Lord Beerus! Kinda forgot you guys were out here!" Goku attempted to apologize and Beerus' slight twitch in the eye was an immediate sign for Goku he chose the wrong words. The latter held up his hands, defensively, realizing his mistake. Videl remained in the doorway with Pan.

"You'd forget to breathe, if someone didn't tell you." Vegeta told him and as Goku was sheepishly grinning at him, he noticed Beranise was sizing both of them up.

"You, too?" Beranise asked him and Vegeta raised a brow. "I thought it was just him." She thumbed at Goku as she stopped next to him. "You both slimmed down. Or was _scrawny_ the look you were going for with your _special_ training?" She folded her arms, not even trying to be humorous.

"Kind of." Goku shrugged. "We had to get stronger in our normal state and learn proper control over our energy and, uh...this...is how it looks, I guess. _Slim_ is the new _super_ or, uh, something." Goku quipped and Beranise gave an odd and even slightly disappointed look.

"Huh." was all she replied with and looked at the two unfamiliar faces, standing farther away, both of who looked as out of place as anyone possibly could. She looked them up and down, then spoke to Whis. "So...you must be Beerus." she said. Goku, Vegeta and a smiling Whis could practically hear Beerus's eye twitch, again.

"Oh, no. My name is Whis. I am merely Lord Beerus' Attendant." He motioned to the slightly irked God of Destruction standing next to him. "Please, take care to address him as such." Whis added and Beranise raised a brow at the politely phrased request that had a subtle, threatening undertone, though she sensed the threat was not coming from Whis.

"Hmph. Someone likes their title." Beranise was not immediately impressed with it. Nor was she fond of lords. Sensing she was being somewhat antagonistic, Whis attempted to dissuade her from any further provocation.

"It is well-deserved, I assure you." Whis told her.

"Oh?" Beranise unfolded her arms, as if she was ready to fight. Goku stepped in front of her, holding up his hands to stop her, while Beerus remained unamused.

"Hey! Hold on! You don't have to fight him." Goku nervously told her. "There's no need to test him. Eh, heh." he added with a laugh, then whispered. "Trust me! Super Saiyan 3 won't even faze him." he told her and Beranise looked unconvinced.

"Well, this is certainly familiar." Beerus told Whis, remembering how North Kai tried to talk Goku out of challenging him.

"Really?" Beranise talked to Goku, while she kept looking at Beerus. "He doesn't look like much. Kinda looks like that hairless cat-breed from this planet." One of Beerus' ears twitched.

"I know, right." Goku whispered back. "I thought the same thing, when I first saw him." Beerus gritted his teeth, as a vein appeared on the side of his temple.

"I can hear you two!" he yelled at them and Goku looked ready to run for safety. "Whis, don't we have dinner to attend to?" Beerus turned to him.

"Right you are, my Lord. Lady Bulma should be waiting for us." Whis nodded.

"She and Jakko should be back by now, right?" Goku looked at Vegeta, referring to Bulma's trip with Jakko.

"They had better be. For his sake." Vegeta was being protective, but his tone also suggested he knew Bulma was perfectly capable of inflicting terror on people, without his presence. They prepared to leave, when Beranise stopped them.

"Hang on!" Beranise exclaimed. "So, what's this tournament, then? Fight or not, I still wanna watch." she said.

"You're welcome to." Whis replied. "You will be spectating with the rest of the family and friends of the contestants."

"So, who are you fighting, anyway?" Beranise turned to Goku.

"Oh, you won't believe! They're the strongest fighters from the 6th universe." Goku replied.

"The...6th...universe?" Beranise slowly repeated.

"Uh...it's kinda hard to explain." Goku scratched his head. "You see, Lord Beerus has a twin brother and he's the God of Destruction of _his_ universe, which is the sixth out of twelve universes. He and Whis' sister came over to our universe on…uh…some business and he ended up challenging Lord Beerus to a tournament and he'll be bringing the best fighters from their universe." Goku summarized.

"Wait..." Beranise processed it all. "Did you say, his _sister_?" She turned to Whis.

"Yeah. Her name's Vados. She looks after Lord Champa, Lord Beerus' brother, kinda the same way Whis does for Lord Beerus. And...!" Goku stepped closer to whisper. "Whis is actually the one who trained Lord Beerus. He's even stronger than him." Beerus' ear moved and he groaned, not liking to be reminded of the power gap. Goku stepped back. "And Vados told us she's a little bit stronger than Whis." he added, louder.

" _Her_ words." Whis slightly objected.

Beranise was already impressed enough by the fact that her present power was nowhere near enough to hold a candle against the Destroyer's. To learn his attendant was the actual master of martial arts, with the same divide in power between them that the other two Saiyans still had, compared to Beerus, was the cake. The true icing turned out to be the female sibling of Whis', who was allegedly even stronger than him. She moved to Whis, looking at him more closely and he waited.

"So...a female version of _you_ , huh." She smiled, trying to imagine how it would look, given the man's already unusual appearance. "You got a picture of her?" Beranise excitedly asked and Whis raised a brow in amusement.

"Here you go." He brought his staff forward and projected an image of Vados. Beranise pressed her face close, after the first glance and started dumbly laughing to herself as she was struck speechless.

"Fufufufu..." She literally started to drool, then quickly sucked it back, when Whis cautiously pulled his staff back, adding worry to his amusement. "Forget your tournament!" Beranise exclaimed. "Is your sister taking on students? If these bozos are training under you..." she nodded at Goku and Vegeta. "Then I wanna train _under_ **her**. Literally." she whispered to herself as she looked at the image, again, which Whis promptly turned off.

"My, you are certainly...driven." Whis commented.

"Not the word I'd use." Videl said, walking up to them and gave Beranise a coy smile as she held Pan.

"Oh. And here is another Saiyan." Whis leaned close to Pan, who seemed to be interested in his staff. He tipped it forward so she could grab it, starting a playful tug-of-war. "She has quite a grip for her age. Hmm. She has as much potential as any Saiyan." he commented.

"Y-you think?" Videl asked, already worried, but also excited about the kind of power her daughter will have.

"Mhm." Whis nodded with a sincere smile and Videl looked at her daughter. Beerus cleared his throat. "Right. We must be on our way."

"You comin'?" Goku asked Beranise, who nodded. She leaned closer to Pan, with a warm smile and tapped her nose, twice, with her index-finger, then waved as she stood with the others, ready to leave.

"Bye, Videl! Bye, Pan!" Goku said.

"Buh-buh...buh!" Pan tried to say it back. Whis and Vegeta placed their hands on Goku's shoulder, while Beerus held onto Whis, again. Beranise followed suit and before she could even ask why they were doing it, they were gone, on their way to Capsule Corporations Headquarters.

[...]

"You wanna go in there for three days!? Won't that kill you!?" Bulma was shouting over the sound of the rushing water, at Vegeta, from their bedroom that night, as he stood under the shower. "Weren't you the one who said the two of you couldn't get any stronger, anyway?"

"If Kakarot will train for three more years, then so will I! I won't let him surpass me! No matter how little we gain!" he answered and Bulma sighed, as she continued to study some blueprints, lying on the bed, in a bathrobe, with her hair wrapped in a towel.

[...]

"Absolutely not!" Chi-Chi's voice shook the house. "Who do you think will work the fields for three whole days!?" Goten quietly chewed his dinner, while his father was afraid he would not take another bite of his chicken drums, as his wife looked ready to wring his neck. He shrunk with every sentence she yelled at him.

"But...what about all the money from the last tournament?" Goku wrongly assumed she was upset over their financial concerns, again.

"This isn't about money, Goku! It's about working an honest day's work and help grow all that food! Where do you think Goten will learn how to provide for his own family, one day, if all he sees is his father running off to fight, all the time!?" Chi Chi explained.

"Well...the fields might actually do better without me doing all my training on them." Goku argued, with a little too much honesty and he realized his mistake as Chi-Chi's face darkened at his casual mention of the destruction of land.

[...]

"Three days, huh?" Piccolo repeated what Beranise, now in her normal state, told him, as they stood under the night sky, up in the Lookout, with Dende and Mr. Popo.

"That's what their planning, anyway. But, you guys said no one can spend more than two, in there." she recalled what might not have been a rule written in stone.

"It's true than no one has ever been inside for longer than that." Dende said. "As far as we know." he added with uncertainty. "In fact, you hold the record, at the moment." he told Beranise.

"So, you want to go in, even if only until tomorrow morning." Piccolo wanted to confirm. "That's eight to ten hours, at the most. Depending on when Goku and Vegeta will arrive."

"That will get you anywhere between a third of a year to nearly half of one." Dende calculated.

"Well, I wanna polish my form, a bit. But, I also can't wait to meet this Whis' guys sister. And get her to train me. He told me I'll have to wait until the tournament to meet her and to see if she _deems me interesting enough to train._ " Beranise quoted the last part.

"If the person who trained the God of Destruction thought Goku and Vegeta were worthy, then whatever kind of person their sibling is, has to, at least, give _you_ a chance." Dende supportively told her.

"Might as well refine your strength." Piccolo suggested.

"Ah, man! Now, I'm gonna have to wait for months, instead of only three days." Beranise held her head and let out an exasperated sigh, then took off towards the Chamber. "I'm gonna get in, before I change my mind!" she explained.

[...]

(Next morning)

"Goku, Vegeta! How've you been?" Dende greeted them.

"Never better! Or...I should say...we think we can get a _little_ better." Goku smirked at Vegeta. "Know what I mean!" he said to Dende.

"I think so." Dende knowingly nodded. "This will be a good chance for us to learn the real limits of the Time Chamber, as well." he excitedly commented.

"Or a lack there of." Piccolo's voice could be heard, as he joined them. "We all learned, long ago, how some rules of the universe simply don't count when it comes to Saiyans. We'll see, any minute, now." he added, glancing back, towards the entrance.

"Huh?" Goku blinked, not immediately catching on.

"She's inside." Vegeta stated, folding his arms and Goku gave him a puzzled look, before he understood.

"You mean Beranise is in there? When did _she_ get in?" Goku asked.

"Last night." Dende replied. "You reserved the Chamber for the remaining three days, before the tournament. So she went inside while you were sleeping to prepare."

"But...she knows she won't be fighting." Goku said.

"Well, she...wants to make a good impression, anyway." Dende shrugged, though he understood the woman's exact reason easily enough and who, in particular, she wanted to impress.

"Hmpf. Right." Vegeta smirked. "She's hoping Vados will train her. You heard her." He turned to Goku.

"Oh. Yeah. She looked pretty interested in her. Maybe she, uh, doesn't want to train under a guy. I guess, it's why she didn't try to meet Whis or Lord Beerus, sooner."

"Well, she missed every chance, she had." Dende recalled. "She was inside the Chamber, when they came to planet for the first time and then she had already been training in Other World, for a while, when Frieza arrived."

"Right." Goku lightly laughed. "King Kai told me she was even more trouble than _me_ , when I was there. And she got to Super Saiyan 3, while she was over there, too."

"Except she did it while being alive." Piccolo corrected him. "Her body can already handle the strain far more than yours did."

"Hah, you don't have to tell _me_!" Goku smiled. "Gohan told me she gave him a beating and probably spent the whole afternoon playing with Pan, in that form. And she didn't look tired, at all!" he exclaimed.

"If she receives training from the same kind of being as Whis, it won't be long before she catches up to you both." Piccolo predicted.

"I wonder how much stronger she's gonna be this time." Goku folded his arms, with an eager expression.

"She should be coming out any minute, now." Dende noted. "Let's look!" he told them and they walked to the entrance of the Chamber. Seconds after they arrived, the door was kicked open, from the inside and a barely battered, frustrated Beranise stomped out.

"I can't take it, anymore!" she yelled, tearing at her normal, black hair. "I wanna go, _now_!" She stopped, when she saw Goku and Vegeta. Dende was cautiously peering from behind Piccolo and Mr. Popo. "You two!" Beranise snarled at the two Saiyans and grabbed them by the collars of their outfits. "Get in there!" she said and tossed them through the door, where they landed on each other, in a heap and looked up as she trudged to the door. "Three _years_!? How am I gonna take just three more _days_!?" she said, more to herself, as she slammed the door shut, let out a deep sigh, then stared at the entrance. She slowly turned to Dende and Mr. Popo. "Uh...you...didn't need to restock or anything, right?" she sheepishly asked them.

"Let's hope not." Dende replied, slightly worried.

[...]

Bulma was enjoying some recreational time in the sun, floating on a mattress, in the middle of their pool. Her eyes were closed under her sunglasses as she relaxed. She could still see when her light was suddenly blocked and she opened her eyes to find Beranise's smiling face in front of her own, as the latter horizontally hung in the air, hands on her hips. Bulma yelped and slipped from her mattress, flailing her arms to grab onto something. Beranise grabbed her by the waist and kept her from falling into the water. She grinned as Bulma blushed, considering she was only in her swimsuit. She made fists and tightened her lips not to curse at her, then slammed her fists on her head, one after the other, for the scare she gave her, only hurting herself. She winced and shook the pain from her hands as Beranise giggled. Bulma puffed her cheeks at her.

"Guess who's gonna go stir crazy for the next three days!" Beranide told her with a sudden grave expression that made Bulma jerked her head back in alarm that faded into a small glare, as she had a not so vague idea how she might have wanted to spend all that time.

"Maybe you should get a hobby." she told Beranise.

"I can only train and eat so much." the latter flatly stated.

"Besides those." Bulma replied, in the same manner.

"What? Should I put on a costume and fight crime for a few days or drive around in tractor, plowing fields? Or on a bike, writing tickets?" Beranise snidely listed some of the things certain Z-Fighters did.

"All of those. You could work construction, lift straw bales, be a bodyguard." Bulma suggested and Beranise was not thrilled with any of her ideas. "Or...why don't you go see if Videl and Gohan need a sitter for Pan. I hear Gohan's busy all day, now, working and then training in the afternoon. And Videl's gotta be beat, looking after a quarter-Saiyan kid." Bulma could immediately tell Beranise was sold on the last idea, so much so that she dropped her, before she took off with a grin, stopping after she realized her slip.

"Oops..." Beranise whispered as she looked down at a red-faced Bulma, who was ready to scream at her. "Uh, s-sorry! I-I got a little excited, there." she rubbed the back of her head.

"I...just...put my sun-screen on!" Bulma was slamming her fists on the water's surface.

"Ooh! I could..." Beranise was about to eagerly offer her assistance in putting it on her, but Bulma shut her down with a warning look. "Eh-heh. Maybe later!" she let out a nervous laugh and darted off.

[...]

"Be-! Be-! Be-wa!" Pan's attempt at speech made her mother turn from the laundry she was hanging.

"What is sweetie?" Videl asked as she lifted her from the pillowed garden chair.

"Be-wa! Be-wa!" Pan kept repeating, excitedly.

"Oh, what are you trying to say, there, huh?" she sweetly asked her.

"Be-wa..." Pan repeated.

"Be-ve...rage. Beverage?" Videl giggled, certain she was not asking for a drink. "You wouldn't know that word, yet." She patted her head. "Then, what is it?" Pan looked above her head and started to fidget even more. Videl turned to see a dot in the sky that she eventually made out to be Beranise, as the latter closed in and descended, landing right behind them.

"Be-wa!" Pan reached towards her.

"Hi!" Beranise said to Videl and bent down to Pan. "Oh, hi!" She held her tiny hands as Pan kept repeating the same thing. "What was that?" she leaned closer.

"I dunno." Videl shook her head. "She just started saying the same thing, over and over, before you showed up." she added and Beranise glanced at her, then turned to Pan.

"Be-wa..." Pan started, more determined.

"Hmm?" Beranise expectantly smiled at her with Videl.

"Be-wa-nith..." Pan slurred the end, still unable to make the proper sound for what turned out to be Beranise's name, much to their surprise. "Bewanith!" Pan repeated, sounding proud of it and Beranise blushed as her hearth melted, along with Videl's.

"Aww! That's...maybe her third word, besides _mama_ and _papa_." Videl noted with joy. "Hang on!" Something occurred to her. "She started saying it, before you even got here." she told Beranise, who thought about what it meant, though Videl could also guess. "Could she...?" She looked at her daughter.

"Mhaha! She can sense energy, alright!" Beranise confirmed it. "That's how she knew I was coming! Didn't you?" she smirked at Pan, who started playfully tugging on Beranise black bangs, becoming confused.

"Oh, you miss the big hair, huh?" Beranise retreated a safe distance and carefully powered up to Super Saiyan 3, then returned to her. "Here!" Pan took hold of her two bangs as her mother helped her on Beranise head, where she nestled in.

"Could you play with her a bit? Like yesterday." Videl asked her.

"Absolutely!" Beranise said as they were grinning at each other with Pan, the latter being upside down as she was.

"Thanks!" Videl beamed at them and went to take care of some chores, both overdue ones and some she wanted done ahead of time.

It was almost high-noon by the time Videl finished all she planned to do around the house and she started preparing lunch. She nearly dropped a carton of eggs as an explosion rocked the house, followed by several more. Running out to the back garden, she found Pan cozily slumped in a large pillow on the tidy grass, gazing up into the sky and laughing with excitement as Beranise fired off energy blasts that detonated roughly at the same altitude. Videl let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, hey! Guess who likes fireworks?" Beranise turned when she noticed Videl, who could not help but think how tame the scene was, despite the inhuman, earth-shaking and sky-quaking forces at work. "It would look a lot better at night, though." Beranise added and Videl got alarmed.

"Well...I'm...not sure all of our neighbors would like that." she said with some unease.

"Bah, who cares about _them_? _She_ likes it!" Beranise nodded at Pan and put her hands on her hips. "Heck, she's gonna make her own show, in a few years. Won't you?" She leaned down to her and Pan made a sound of agreement. "Wanna try?" Beranise mischievously asked Pan, just loud enough for Videl to hear. "Hands up! Like this." Beranise already began instructing her and Pan kept throwing her hands forward, imitating her.

"W-wait!" Videl cautiously walked up to them. "That could be dangerous. W-what if she does-..." she was stunned to silence, when a light burst forth from her daughter's hands that accidentally obliterated a garden gnome, close to them. "S-something like _that_." Videl slumped as she stared at the burned spot.

"Holy crap! Hahaha!" Beranise laughed in amazement. "That's energy-sensing and blasts down. Now...flying should be next, I think." She cupped her chin, in thought.

"Ehh..." Videl looked slightly mortified.

[...]

Gohan was on his way home, in the early afternoon, calmly and politely weaving through the midday rush-hour in his roofless auto-mobile, feeling the small urge to get out and fly, but he was nearly at his destination. He felt a familiar energy, again and as he rounded the last turn to their street, the energy he felt rapidly came closer and Beranise appeared, landing on the hood of his car, making him hit the brakes.

"B-Beranise! What're you doing?" Gohan asked, noting she was in her normal state.

"Your wife needs a couple of extra things from the store. She told me to go meet you halfway, so you don't have to make another round trip. No need to thank me. She already did." She smirked at Gohan, who knew she was merely egging him on.

"Right." he dryly replied.

"Here's her list." Beranise flung a notepad in his lap. "Don't be late! Or I'll kick your ass!" she told him and Gohan was certain she was only half-joking. "And what's with those glasses, still?" Beranise placed a foot forward leaning in. "Do you even need 'em?" she asked and before Gohan could answer she snatched them off his face.

"Hey!" Gohan was slow to react as he reached after them. Beranise briefly inspected his spectacles, then tried them on. She started striking some poses that were either awfully familiar to Gohan or were exaggerated to look even more ridiculous than they already were.

"I'm a bird! I'm plane!" Beranise announced in a mock heroic tone, doing another pose, each time. "I'm Saiyamaaan!" she finished and was bending down, facing away from Gohan, reaching behind and holding his glasses up in front of her butt.

"Not so loud!" Gohan whispered, not even having time to be offended by the display, as he immediately needed to quiet her. He could only glare at her as she handed his glasses back to him, which he put on with a sigh. "I'm going, now." he said, referring to his task.

"Chop-chop!" Beranise told him and flew off, back to their house as Gohan groaned, before turning around with the car.

[...]

The store-run luckily did not take much time to complete and Gohan was soon approaching their house. Pulling up in the drive, he saw Beranise spinning with her feet above the ground and Pan hung from hair tail as if it was a merry-go-round, happily giggling. He stopped the car and was smiling at the scene. They turned when they heard him pull up and stop the engine.

"I can see you're not weak in the tail, either. I'm not surprised." he told Beranise, as he shut the car's door and walked up to them.

"They didn't make me skip tail-day." she stated and presented Gohan with his daughter by lifting her to eye-level with him, as she was holding onto her tail.

"Papa!" Pan squealed a greeting and Gohan gently detached her.

"Are you staying for lunch?" Gohan asked and it sounded like an invitation, despite Beranise's borderline antagonistic teasing of him.

"Nah." Beranise walked over to a garden lamp to retrieve her sash. "Like I said, your wife already thanked me." she said, wrapping it around her waist and concealing her tail. "She made a little more than she planned, like, for plus one Saiyan." She grinned, patting her stomach and stifled a belch. "But I can hang around 'til you're done." She folded arms. "We can have a little _pre-training_ , before you go to Piccolo. I'll soften you up. Unless you got tougher while I was gone." She unfolded her arms, stepping closer as if she was about to fight him right then.

"What?" Gohan made a face. "It's barely been a _day_." he pointed out.

"Huh?" Beranise tilted her head in momentary confusion, before she remembered. "Oh, yeah. I forgot it's been only a few hours, out here." she said to herself.

"Out _here_?" Gohan repeated her words, before understanding her. "You mean, you went in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, again?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Stayed overnight." Beranise folded her arms. "Longest six months of my life! I couldn't take it, anymore. Even if I didn't have to vacate the room to let your dad and his Shortness in. I just want this tournament to start!" She brought her fists up, showing some impatience.

"And meet a certain person, right?" Gohan knowingly smiled. "You want Whis' sister to train you, don't you?"

"Duh!" Beranise put her hands on her hips. "She can kick a God of Destruction _and_ his teacher to the curb. You bet I want a one on one!" she exclaimed with a smirk.

"Well, you're gonna have to stick it out for two more days. And a half. And you look like you can barely keep yourself from fighting every tree." Gohan told her.

"Just thinking of the environment. Wouldn't wanna ruin a perfectly good neighborhood. I'll leave _that_ to _this one_." she put a hand on Pan's head.

"What's that supposed to be mean?" Gohan suspiciously asked.

"Your wife'll tell you. Or she might not. I told her she could pin it on me." Beranise kept ruffling Pan's head, as a goodbye and also avoided saying anything about the discovery made about her.

"Pin what on you?" Gohan asked as Beranise started flying away. "Wait...!" he called after her, one more time, as Pan waved. Gohan looked at her innocent smile in confusion and walked inside.

"I'm home!" Gohan announced.

"Gohan! Lunch is almost ready." Videl replied.

"I brought the groceries." he stated.

"Wonderful! I hope Beranise wasn't too rough." Videl said.

"Well, she didn't beat me up, this time." Gohan replied.

"I hoped she wouldn't." Videl told him, slightly uncomfortably.

"Hoped? You didn't even tell her not to, huh?" Gohan pretended feeling betrayed.

"Oh, stop!" Videl laughingly said. "Now, I'll need a few more minutes, in here. Why don't you wait out in the back?"

"Sure." Gohan walked out back with Pan and after a few moments of silence, his voice rang out. "Uh...Videl!? What happened to our garden gnome!?" Hasty footsteps were heard coming out of the house.

"Well, uh...it was...um..." Videl stumbled.

"Gaga!" Pan chirped up, raising her hands high, announcing it was her doing, with pride.

"Huh?" Gohan suddenly understood what Beranise meant.

"W-we need to talk." Videl nervously told him.

"Oh, boy." Gohan sighed.

[...]

Everyone spent the next two and half days in relative normalcy. Beranise made use of the gravity chamber in Bulma's ship. The latter was quick to suggest it in an effort to turn the Saiyan woman's attention away from herself. Between the added training, the purpose of which was purely to stave off boredom and insanity, she also made sure to drop by and play with Pan, giving her mother time for all her household duties. She received some due suspicion when she offered to help Videl sift through and hang her clean laundry. Bulma invited them over for lunch, the same day and her comparison of Beranise to Oolong was entirely lost on most of them. After continued complaints about the ship smelling like a Prince's port-o-potty, Beranise opted to remain outside, the next day, where she let Trunks wore himself out, as they sparred. While Bulma was duly worried about the state of her garden, she could certainly appreciate that her son could burn all his energy and be less of a handful, even if only for a day. On the last day, before the Tournament...

"The boy ain't exactly back to his old strength." Beranise was telling Piccolo and Dende. "We can count his dad and the Prince out, obviously. And that Buu guy is always either in a food-coma or working his way to one. I don't have anyone on my level or above, who could even give me a proper workout."

"Well, there is still one person who might be on your level or at least close to it." Dende said and looked at Piccolo, whose face showed dread, as he understood who Dende was suggesting.

[...]

"So you got Goten and Trunks to fuse, again?" Gohan asked Piccolo as they took a break from training and were sitting on top of some cliffs. "How did _that_ go?"

Piccolo closed his eyes and folded his arms, as he sat. He remained silent as he recalled the results.

[Flashback]

Goten and Trunks were both lying on the tiles of the Lookout, nearly passed out, with their heads spinning and swirls for eyes, after Beranise literally beat the fusion out of them.

"Pretty sure that counts as child-abuse, somewhere." Beranise commented, hands on her hips and in her Super Saiyan 3 state, not looking worn down, in the least.

"They had worse." Was all Piccolo could mutter in disappointment.

[End of Flashback]

"He didn't even have time to run his mouth." Piccolo referred to Gotenks. Though the lack of the headache he usually got from the boys' fusion was not really compensation for their sound defeat and failure.

"Ouch." Gohan could practically feel their wounded pride, almost as if it was his own.

[...]

"It's what they get for not training." Vegeta was in the middle of telling Goku, as they ate at the heavily stacked dining table of the Time Chamber. "If your sons..." he paused. "And mine..." he added, with a grunt, admitting he was also disappointed in his own. "If they had kept up their training they would've been strong enough to fight Frieza. At least in his first form. Instead, their fusion wore off before they could even begin. And Gohan..." He would have continued.

"I know. I know." Goku raised his hands, defensively. "And he's making sure it won't happen, again. I don't know about the boys, though." He paused to think, folding his arms. "They get just as excited for a tournament as we do. It's practically the only time they train. Maybe we should talk to Mr. Satan about holding more tournaments. That way, Goten would always train to try and beat Trunks. And he'd do the same. Right? There's really not much else we could do." he suggested and Vegeta could not disagree. They had nothing else to motivate them but the race to keep up with each-other and for Gohan, to face any foe that might come, so he could protect his family. But they both understood the two youngest half-Saiyans were not mature enough for any strong motivation to last for them. The turbulence and drama of teen-hood was ahead of them, along with early adolescence and despite their Saiyan blood, their parents knew they were just as likely to find interest in something, as they were to lose it and as quickly as they got it.

"And they still got high-school to go through, like Gohan." Goku said, somewhat forebodingly.

"Hgn. Don't remind me." Vegeta made a face of disgust, remembering Gohan, every time the latter came to visit them. "As if the lack of training wasn't bad enough...that place will just ruin a warrior." he muttered, silently vowing he would find whatever alternative there was to keep his son from that experience.

"Well, I don't think either of us'll have much say in it." Goku laughingly reminded Vegeta who was really making the decisions around the house and Vegeta felt every vague notion he entertained of keeping his son on a certain path scatter. He resumed his lunch with a forceful bite.

[...]

"No wonder she was desperate for a good fight." Gohan said to Piccolo. "Videl told me she even tried to have _Pan_ throw a few punches at her!" he exclaimed.

[...]

Beranise stood with her palms held up and facing forwards, in front of Pan, who sat in her high-chair.

"Seriously?" Videl scolded her, then sighed, as Pan was already enthusiastically flailing her fists towards Beranise.

[...]

"She's gonna be a handful." Gohan wearily said, thinking of their quarter-Saiyan child growing up.

"Give it a few years. They'll get worse." Piccolo muttered.

"Hey!" Gohan could see Piccolo's smirk. His rare jovial moment went as fast as it came, when they both sensed a substantial power-level approaching them. Gohan peered over the top of the cliffs to see Beranise speeding towards them and more specifically _him_. And she was not slowing down. She was still in her normal state as she rushed him with a kick.

"Heads-up, punk!" she exclaimed as she drove the sole of her right foot into Gohan's raised forearms, pushing him back and off the rock he barely had time to stand up from. She kicked him several more times from all angles, then repeated her first kick, to which Gohan reacted the same way and Beranise pushed herself off from his block to make a beeline at a surprised Piccolo, who narrowly side-stepped a flurry of kicks, as he was not expecting to be attacked. "Hey, _we_ never fought before!" It occurred to Beranise.

"No." Piccolo agreed they have not, indeed and Beranise bounced off of whim with a fast elbow attack and towards Gohan, who only had marginally more time to react than before. Beranise made a few attacks on him and began switching between them, knowing full well both Gohan and Piccolo were stronger compared to her normal state. Piccolo had become powerful enough to train with Gohan in his Super Saiyan 2 form and though Gohan had lost most of the power Elder Kai had awoken in him, he still had just enough to not be at a complete disadvantage against Beranise, both in the latter's normal state and in the first two Super Saiyan forms. She felt Gohan was no trouble, unlike the Namekian behind her, against who she needed to turn Super Saiyan, which she did, as she launched an attack on Piccolo. Gohan evened his own odds as much as he could by doing the same and attempted to blindside Beranise, but as he and Piccolo both remembered from the World Martial Arts Tournament, she was not to be underestimated and apparently not only when she fought an opponent of equal strength, but when it was two on one.

Beranise was certainly getting some exercise and though it was challenging to keep up with both fighters at her current level, it was only her first two Super Saiyan forms. She was not truly testing the limits of her full power, which was her aim. After a good few minutes of nonstop attacking, blocking and evading two opponents, Beranise stopped to take a breather.

"Hmm..." Piccolo started, making an observation. "I expected you to be stronger in this form." he told Beranise, who slightly narrowed her eyes at him. "Goku told me that up till now, Whis trained him and Vegeta to get as strong as they could possibly get in their normal states, so they would be that much stronger when they transformed. And they only got to that point, now."

"Yeah." Gohan turned to him, in agreement. "He said Vegeta didn't even see any real reason for them to go into the Time Chamber. He said they were almost at their limit and that they won't gain much. The only reason he went in is because he doesn't want dad to surpass him, even a little." He smiled at that. "But the whole thing was for them to figure out on their own. He couldn't even recall Whis ever telling them not to transform during any of their training. In the end, they didn't even have to be told." Beranise relaxed in her stance and straightened up, understanding what they were trying to get at.

"You perfected every Super Saiyan transformation." Piccolo stated, folding his arms. "But ignored your basic form."

"You probably didn't think it had to be trained any further. Then again, neither did my dad or Vegeta, so..." Gohan added, trailing off, so as to not make it sound like she did anything wrong. Beranise scoffed, feeling as if she _had_ made a mistake, in all her training, regardless. It also meant Vados was likely to tell her the same. Beranise balled her fists and reverted to normal, as she thought of it. She looked down and suddenly felt unprepared. "I got a feeling Whis' sister's going to tell you the same." Gohan said and Beranise slowly raised her head to glare at him for saying what she was also thinking out loud and Gohan noticed it. "Uh, sorry! It's not easy to hear, I know. Especially after all the training you did. And…coming from me, of all people."

"It's not like it'll take you much time to make up for the lack of training in this state." Piccolo predicted, nodding at her normal state. "And since Goku and Vegeta will probably be at their limit, tomorrow, the gap will only get smaller, from there."

"Yeah. I wouldn't worry too much about it." Gohan smiled. "Well...unless Whis' sister has higher standards for who she takes on as a student." he added and Beranise shot him a glare. "B-but, I'm sure you're gonna cut it." Gohan held up his hands, calmingly waving them.

"We're done for today, anyway." Piccolo states, looking at Gohan, as if he was reminding him of something.

"Oh, right! Bulma invited us for dinner. Have to get ready. You're coming, too, right?" he asked Piccolo.

"Sure." Piccolo muttered, having become slightly more sociable over the years.

"What about you?" Gohan turned to Beranise.

"I'm already on the guest list." Beranise folded her arms, still not feeling like smiling.

"Alright, then. See you both there!" Gohan flew off. Piccolo lingered for a few more moments and looked at Beranise, who kept her eyes at her feet, her mood soured, even though what they told her about her rate of progress was true. Piccolo turned and quietly left her to her thoughts.

[...]

The evening came. Gohan and Videl got out of their car, in front of Capsule Corp's HQ, with the latter carrying Pan in her arms. After a member of the staff escorted them, they were greeted by Bulma and Trunks, in the back garden.

"Hey! Glad you could make it!" Bulma beamed and leaned in, closer to Pan. "Hi, there!" she said in a baby voice and Pan answered her in kind.

"We're the first ones, here? Wait...Beranise is here. And Piccolo, too." Gohan only sensed them as he looked around, not seeing anyone else, besides the Briefs.

"He's in his usual spot, at the pond." Bulma said and Trunks folded his arms.

"He says he's meditating. I bet he's just sleeping." he commented.

"Probably one after the other." Gohan smiled. "So, who else coming?" he turned to Bulma.

"Krillin told me they can make it, this time." she smiled. "They already had plans, yesterday. So they couldn't make it for lunch. Yamcha said he'll bring Puar, Roshi and Oolong. Chi-Chi is coming with her father and Goten, of course. Tien and Chiaotzu will be here, too."

"Awesome! The whole gang will be here!" Gohan exclaimed, eager to see old friends.

"Bewa! Bewaaa!" Pan started flailing one arm.

"Huh? What's that?" Bulma leaned closer to Pan.

"She's probably sensing Beranise." Gohan said.

"Sensing? Hehe. Wow!" Bulma giggled. "What a smart little girl you already are!" She patted her head. "It was the same with Trunks." she stated and the latter looked up at her, somewhat surprised. "He was only a baby and he could already tell when one of you was around. I had a near miss with Krillin in the air, once, when Trunks was trying to tell me he was in front of us. I almost didn't see him." she recalled. "Oh! And Beranise is at the tables. She's kinda glum. Don't know what's wrong. I've never seen her like this." she told them.

"Still?" Gohan asked in surprise. "We told her she's got nothing to worry about."

"Worry about what?" Bulma was puzzled, as was Videl and even Pan tilted her head.

[...]

Beranise was sitting at a table, with a nearly full stack of meatballs and vegetable sidings in front of her. She was resting her head in her hands, propped on her elbows, looking downcast. Her eyes moved to their corner as she sensed not one but two people with higher than average energy behind her. Two slender arms came down on either side of her head, holding a smiling baby Pan. Beranise raised her head and leaned backwards, into Videl and looked up at her, as the latter let out a small laugh.

"Hi! Bulma said you were feeling down. So, we thought we'd cheer you up! You must be really out of it, if we could sneak up on you." Videl playfully told her and Beranise was silent, for a second, deciding not to mention she could actually sense them. Though she was unprepared for Pan to be lowered in front of her and the latter was reaching towards her for either a hug or to play with her bangs. She received both as she leaned forward to let her and her mood was instantly made a lot less sour. Videl let go of Pan and she let Beranise hug her close to her chest. Beranise leaned back, again, resting her head against Videl's abdomen as she gazed up at her with slightly misty eyes that had enough of their usual mischief returning into them.

"Is it too late for us to get married?" she asked Videl and grinned, even after her lack of a reaction, as the latter did not even get flustered by it, anymore. Instead, she gave her a coy, if not, apologetic and slightly pitying smile.

"'Fraid so." Videl said and smiled at Beranise's groan, as the latter turned her attention back to Pan.

[...]

A few minutes later, a car stopped out front. Krillin and his family got out. He stopped and stood still, looking in the direction of the party.

"I hope no one's fighting." he said, a little nervously.

"You still sense that much energy?" 18 asked, taking a few steps, as she protectively held their daughter's hand. Krillin took the other as he answered her.

"I can sense Buu. And I definitely sense Beranise, but she's _way_ stronger than she was at the Tournament. Gohan and Piccolo are here, too. Videl and...wow! That's gotta be Pan! I don't believe it!" he exclaimed. "Almost feels like Gohan, when he was a kid, after Piccolo trained him." Krillin described in disbelief.

"So, you're saying she's already a lot stronger than a normal toddler? Marron should be careful, when they play." 18 looked at their daughter.

"Heheh. Maybe you, too!" Krillin joked as they started towards the party, but considering her experience with Goten and Trunks, seeing how powerful Saiyan children can be, 18 actually had to take her husband's words seriously.

They arrived in the garden to a relatively normal scene of people engaged in conversations. The children, surprisingly not in the middle of the expected rough-housing, with their mothers standing at the ready to pull them apart by their ears, were actually occupying themselves with harmless eavesdropping, candy-stealing, scavenger hunting and scheming, while Pilaf and his henchmen were doing their best not to be physically harmed by any of it. The usual pink suspect and his grown pup were eating all the sweets. Krillin stopped and stared, along with 18, as he finally saw where he felt most of the energy was coming from. Beranise, in her Super Saiyan 3 form, was swinging from a tree's branch with her tail, as little Pan happily squealed from where she hung from her hair. Videl did not look worried, at all, as she stood close by, while Gohan was talking to Piccolo.

"Well, that's explain all that power I've been feeling." Krillin said, with his surprise quickly fading, as he reminded himself there were Saiyans involved and the others noticed them.

"Krillin! Hey, you guys made it!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Yup. Who would pass on free dinner, eh? Eh-heh-heh." Krillin joked, holding up his hands and glancing at Bulma to see if he needed to defend himself as they joined them.

"Well, maybe _someone's_ gonna go on an all-fist diet. Starting right now!" Bulma threatened with a smirk.

"Great. Just when I thought we wouldn't have any fighting." Krillin moaned. "I...kinda thought there was one going on, already." he added, looking over to Beranise, who was coming back from the trees with Pan in her hair.

"Nah. Just playing." Gohan stated.

"Apparently one's gotta be a licensed Super Saiyan to babysit a quarter-Saiyan." Bulma commented.

"Yeah. No kidding" Krillin stared as Beranise walked up to them, flashing a grin.

"Hey, shorty!" she greeted him and looked up at 18, behind him. Her smile disappeared and before anyone even registered it, she was at 18's side, poking her, as she circled her. 18 was as confused as the rest, at first, before she realized what Beranise was doing. She sighed, still holding her daughter's hand.

"You're not going to feel any metal." she stated and Beranise stopped, stepping back.

"Guess not." she accepted it, with a little disappointment and leaned closer, with her hands on her hips. "Hey, blondie!" she grinned, greeting her, as well.

"Hey." 18 said and Beranise looked down, at the much smaller, smiling blondie, who was holding 18's hand.

"Hey, tiny blondie! Marron, right?" Beranise friendlily smiled and 18 was surprised she knew her name. She figured either Videl or Bulma must have told her.

"Aha!" Maron nodded. "You're the lady, who played with my mom at the tournament!" she noted.

"That's right." Beranise beamed at her.

"Your hair is really big!" Maron said, in awe of her mane.

"Yep. Some like it." Beranise rolled her eyes up to look at Pan and lightly bobbed her head, eliciting a giggle from her.

"Hi, Pan!" Marron waved up at her. The latter waved back at her and Beranise kneeled until they were nearly at eye-level with each other.

"Here, take her! Before this turns into a play-date. I wish!" Beranise added with a smirk to 18, who did not miss her meaning as she carefully took hold of Pan, remembering what Krillin told her. Videl was at her side, the next second.

"Careful with her." She cautioned her with a smile.

"I know. Krillin told me she's strong." 18 said as she handed Pan to Videl.

"That she is!" Gohan folded his arms, proudly.

"Hey, maybe we should take those two to Trunks' old room. It's full of plush toys, so it's practically padded. Just in case." Bulma suggested.

"Uh...let's hope we won't need padding. They're not gonna _fight_." Videl pointed out.

"Yeah. And Pan can control her strength." Gohan assured them. "Besides that, she can sense energy, already. And I have feeling she just _knows_ how much force she can use with people. She's never hurt Videl or anyone. Not even by accident."

"That's true." Videl confirmed. "I mean, we were worried, at first, for sure, but we didn't have any injuries, so far."

"Good to know." 18 noted.

"Oh, I can't _wait_ to see her fight!" Beranise exclaimed.

"Well, if she's going to be like Trunks or you, Gohan, then it'll only be a few years, till _that_ happens. Even sooner." Bulma stated.

"Well, I sure started early." Gohan said, looking at Piccolo.

"Maybe we can put her in the Time Chamber for a few days." Beranise folded her arms with a wicked smile and everyone gave her a disturbed stare. "What? In goes the toddler. And out comes the Super Saiyan. Straight into preschool. Mwhuhah!" she guffawed.

"Let's...not make her grow up that fast." Gohan said, turning somber and briefly reflecting on the early childhood he had. The people he met and some who he fought. The places he has been. All, before he even went to school. The others could see he was reminiscing inside his head, as he turned sullen. Beranise reverted to normal.

"Way to kill the mood, kid." she told him.

"Sorry." Gohan raised his head and smiled, apologetically.

"Can we play?" Marron squeaked up at her mom, breaking the brief silence.

"Pway, pway!" Pan repeated her new word.

"Alright." Videl smiled and went to find a comfortable spot on the grass for them to sit, followed by 18, Marron and Bulma.

"It really _has_ been long." Gohan mused, looking after them.

"Yeah." Krillin sighed, lacing his fingers behind his head with a smile.

"Pff. You sound like a bunch of old guys and you're _half_ my age." Beranise told them and walked off, towards the serving tables, having regained her appetite.

"I'm not!" Krillin pointed out, while walking to catch up with her. "Goku and I grew up together. Uh...in years, anyway." he added, self-deprecatingly. "Beat you to it!" he told Beranise, before she could comment on his height.

"Good job! It's important to have a sense of humor." Beranise stated, stopping in front of a table and gingerly started portioning her food on a plate.

"Yeah. My _beautiful wife_ likes it, too." Krillin smugly noted and got the reaction he wanted, as Beranise shot him a slightly jealous look over her shoulder.

"Smart-ass." Beranise muttered and finished stacking her plate. She dipped the spoon in, one last time, stirring it around and handed it to Krillin. "Here." She smiled and left him to try and balance the tower of food on the spoon that threatened to collapse on him. Gohan hastily stepped in with two other plates and caught it, then smiled and handed one to Krillin, who also thought it would incidentally be enough for an appetizer. They both grabbed sticks and dug in, looking towards the sounds of the children playing, as they all enjoyed the peaceful evening.

[The Next Day]

"I don't see the rest of our Saiyans. They realize they have to be there to fight, don't they?" Whis asked Bulma, as almost everyone else already boarded the Hexahedron. Beranise was standing next to Bulma, hands on her hips.

"I've given up trying to care." Bulma said. "I haven't heard a peep from 'em since they flew off to train in the Time Chamber."

"Ahem." They heard someone clear his throat and turned to see Jaco. "Sorry I'm late!" the latter told them.

"Hey, it's your space buddy-cop." Beranise nonchalantly noted.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot _you_ were coming." Bulma half-seriously told him, with some amusement in her voice, knowing it would irritate him.

"When a protector of your universe finds time in his busy schedule for you, it'd be nice of you'd at least pretend to care." Jaco took offense.

"Huh? Who's this?" Bulma noticed the tentacled alien next to him. "Oh, please tell me it's your new girlfriend!" she expectantly smiled.

"What is wrong with you!?" Jaco was mortified by her assumption. "That's not a date! That's our galaxy's most important mortal! Our Galactic King!" Jaco dramatically presented the being, practically standing on ceremony, where as Bulma and Beranise could not be any less impressed.

"Oh, that's neat! It's good to meet ya!" Bulma raised a hand in greeting, but was already looking the other way as she continued, missing their gasps and Beranise did not even say a word. "Goku and Vegeta better get here, quick. What's the point in going if our own fighters won't show up?"

"The Eartling does not seem to be impressed with my visit." the Galactic King whispered to Jaco.

"That's just her species, Sire." Jaco apologetically told him. "What we see as casual indifference is actually their highest form of respect." he tried to explain.

"Heh." Whis made a sound and gave a slight smile. He could agree that the species could certainly demonstrate boldness, even in the face of deities, that could be perceived as indifference or even an utter lack of due respect. At the same time, he felt the arrival of the very pair they were all waiting for, as he looked up.

"There you are!" Bulma exclaimed, then her face dropped when she saw the state Goku and Vegeta were in.

"Sorry! You really lose track of time in there." a bearded Goku started to say, as an equally disheveled Vegeta stood behind him. "Seeing how it's a Hyperbolic Time Chamber. You know how it is. But, we stayed an extra week. We trained a ton!" Goku stepped forward as he excitedly told them and they all backed away, holding their noses as their olfactory senses were overloaded by their smell.

"We're not going till you shower!" Bulma yelled, pinching her nose and wildly gesturing with her free hand. "There's no way I'm sharing that box with your stink!"

Beranise walked up and grabbed them by the neck of their clothing, again. "You hobos wasted enough time, already! So...hurry...up!" she said and with her last words, picked them up and tossed them through a window, into the building.

"That's...actually close to one of the showers." Bulma noted with some relief that she accidentally broke through the house at the right spot.

"Good!" Beranise folded her arms. "I wanna get there, ASAP! And apparently, _ASAP_ means _three hours_ to the guy who trained a God of Destruction." she criticizingly leaned towards Whis, glaring up at him.

"We all have our limitation." Whis replied, not taking any offense.

"Good to know." Beranise looked at him, as if she was analyzing him and Whis raised a brow, founding the female Saiyan's search for weaknesses amusing and not dissimilar to the two male specimens of the species he was training. Like Goku and Vegeta, she was aiming higher. Looking to evolve and eventually challenge the gods and even those above them, he figured.

[...]

They arrived at Beerus' home and everyone left the hexahedron to stretch their limbs and wait for the God of Destruction.

"You may take pictures, Patrolman. But, no posting them on the Galactic Net." Whis told Jaco and all others.

"Big place, for one cat." Beranise stood, unimpressed, looking up at the palace of the Destroyer, with her arms folded, as the others were snapping pictures and doing some quick sightseeing.

"Not to your taste, I take it." Whis stepped up.

"Palaces, in general, aren't." Beranise stated.

"Hmm. I suppose I can guess the reason for that." Whis replied. "You have mostly negative experiences with people who usually occupy them."

"What? You can see the past or something?" Beranise snidely asked, keeping her mild glare on the edifice that reached high into the sky.

"As a matter of fact, I can." Whis confirmed, with a hint of teasing in his voice and Beranise slowly turned her head to look at him, unsure if he was serious or not, then looked ahead.

"Hrgh. Where is he?" she grumbled. "You'd think a god wouldn't make everyone wait. Or is that a perk of the job?"

"Patience." Whis calmingly told her, understanding the Saiyan woman was in a hurry, being just as excited about the tournament as the other two Saiyans and then there was also his sister she was eager to meet.

Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo and Buu joined them as they heard some commotion. Beerus appeared with a mysterious alien in toe, telling Whis they were late.

"Apologies for that, my Lord. But between the showers and the defecation, we just couldn't get moving." Whis replied.

"You _had_ to say that part out loud." Beranise made a face at him mentioning everyone's business.

Despite warnings from Beerus, Monaka's presence got Goku excited well beyond introductions and small-talk, to the point where he actually swung a fist at the little man, only to be reprimanded with a smack to the back of his head by Beerus himself. Beranise watched them board the hexahedron and gave Whis a suspicious look, after witnessing the whole exchange, not entirely convinced the small, unassuming man was who the God of Destruction claimed him to be and even though her doubt was shared by some of the others, Whis did not say anything on the matter.

[...]

"It's too bad Gohan couldn't get time off work to see all this, huh." Bulma was saying to Videl, who was holding Pan, as they were on their way, once more.

"Yeah. Such a shame." Beranise said as she hugged Videl and Pan to herself from the back, grinning and Bulma chuckled. Videl turned her head to look up and gave Beranise a cautioning smile, while Pan giggled, reaching towards her.

"Well, I for one am glad he didn't let it interfere with his career." Chi-Chi spoke from the grill. "And from what Videl tells me, he's actually managing to balance his work and his training." she added.

"Well, it's only been a few days, but he's keeping it together." Videl noted how determined Gohan was to improve himself, while maintaining a day-job.

"On the threat of _someone_ kicking his butt, if he doesn't, right?" Bulma smirked behind her, at Beranise.

"It was just a normal conversation between Saiyans." Beranise made a waving motion with her hand, dismissing her part in pushing Gohan to focus on his training, at least.

"Yeah, right. You probably just _implied_ things. With your fists, I bet." Bulma folded her arms, figuring she used more than just words to push Gohan.

"Scholar or not, it is effective, when you're dealing with a Saiyan." Piccolo commented with a small smile and noticed Goku walking up to Monaka with a kebab-stick, who politely declined it. Beranise could tell by his expression that the Namekian was as skeptical about the man as she was. Moments later their tube-of-a-cosmic-chariot slowed as they were close to their destination. The Nameless Planet, upon which the tournament was to be held, floated in between six of the seven Super Dragon Balls and much to the awe of the new arrivals, they were all truly equal in size to the planet.

"This is unbelievable, Whis!" Bulma exclaimed. "When you said they were as big as planets, I thought you were exaggerating, but they really are! I mean, you could actually live on these things."

"Imagine the power!" Krillin said. "No wonder you could wish for anything."

"If they're that big, I wonder if I could wish for a whole planet. Full of Saiyan women, maybe." Beranise thought out loud and Videl let out an audible groan next to her, as did Beerus.

"I think that's more than enough sight-seeing. Whis, let's go!" Beerus commanded.

"Understood, my Lord." Whis obeyed and they descended through the dome of air that was created around the arena, spectator seats and food-stands.

"Aw yeah!" Trunks and Goten exclaimed in amazement.

"Seems like a lot of trouble for a tournament they'll only hold once." Piccolo thought out loud.

"Lord Champa only had a few days. Did he build all this stuff by himself?" Goku asked Beerus.

"No, Saiyan. Destroyers do not _build_ anything. And even if we did, my brother would never be capable of _this_. It would be just paper and sticks." he added, poking fun at his twin.

"I heard that, Beerus!" Champa appeared and came closer, grinning. "Wanna say that to my face?" he challengingly asked and Beerus silently rose, out of the hexahedron, to meet him above.

"So that's Champa?" Bulma asked.

"Yes. The Destroyer of the Sixth Universe." Vegeta replied.

"Honestly, I'm shocked you didn't back out." Champa told Beerus.

"Of course I came, Champa." Beerus smirked. "As if I'd miss an opportunity to see your face when you lose. And take your precious rock collection for myself."

"Glad you're confident. It'll make taking Earth much more fun." Champa folded his arms with a wicked grin.

"By the way...I know about your dirty little secret, Champa." Beerus gave him a piercing look. "You stole some of those orbs from _my_ universe. Which explains your trespassing."

"What're you talking about?" Champa feigned ignorance, then Bulma spoke up.

"We know there are only seven of them spread across two universes, so that means you must've taken some of hours." she explained.

"Ack! Who told you that!?" Champa shrieked in surprise that they figured out so much.

"I knew you were up to something!" Beerus exclaimed.

"Wait! I did no such thing!" Champa still tried to play innocent.

"If you weren't my twin brother, I would destroy you for such a theft." Beerus threatened him. "Not that it matters. They'll soon be mine, anyway." he smugly added.

"You should be taking this time to prepare for inevitable failure." Champa told him, composing himself by predicting his own victory.

"Are you two done yet?" A woman's voice was heard and Beranise lifted her gaze to see the very person she was looking forward to meet for months. Vados floated down between the two Destroyers. "If so, then I can escort you all to the arena now. As you can see, we have ample seating for everyone." she indicated.

"Are those seats made outta rock?" Trunks complained. "Ugh. Don't you have cushions or something?"

"Trunks is right." Bulma agreed. "We came a long way for this. So you could at least make us comfortable!"

"No one forced you to come, Earthling." Champa held up his nose and folded his arms.

"I think she has a point, Champa." Beerus said. "What kind of host allows their guests to seat in such cut-rate seats. Honestly, I'd be embarrassed, if I were the one responsible."

"You take that back!" Champa whined.

"Whis!" Beerus commanded and Whis understood what was required of him.

"Yes, my Lord. I always do enjoy redecorating. Now, let's see!" He raised his staff and began erasing all the seats Champa had Vados build, then replaced them with small floating platforms that had cushioned seats for the fighters to wait in and a grassy knoll with pillows for the rest of the spectators to view the event from.

"So...that's his sister, huh?" Krillin looked at Vados as Whis carried on.

"I couldn't even sense her." Tien commented. "I still can't." he added, scrutinizing the woman, along with Beranise, who silently stood as they voiced the same thoughts she herself was having.

"Yeah. It's the same with Whis and Beerus." Krillin noted. "Man, these guys are just too much." he said, shaking a little, as Whis finished and they all gasped at the changes he made.

"You're making me look bad." Champa whispered to Vados. "Why didn't you make it more fancy? I know you can do better than stone bleachers."

"Sir, it would be disrespectful for an artists to create a work of art their patron could not fully appreciate or understand." Vados replied.

"That's my big sister for you." Whis said.

"Yes. She was just trying to operate on _your_ level. You should thank your attendant for being so well-heeled, Champa." Beerus chided.

"I like her, already." Beranise said to herself, seeing how the woman was subtly mocking the very god she was serving.

"Good luck, boys!" Bulma called after them. "Do your best!"

"Okay!" Goku yelled back. Beranise attempted to follow them, but Whis blocked her path.

"My apologies. I'm afraid spectators are not allowed to be present at the written examination." he told her and she turned more agitated. "Now, now. You can speak with my sister after it is done and the matches begin." Whis added and left. Beranise growled, internally, losing more of what little patience she had and joined the others as they relocated to the platform. They were soon joined by Supreme Kai, Kibito and Elder Kai, after their exchange with Goku.

"Greetings, everyone!" Supreme Kai said.

"Hey, Supreme Kai!" Krillin waved as the latter landed, followed by Kibito and the elder. "Kibito, hey!" Krillin held his hand up for him, too.

"Greetings!" he nodded and exchanged one more and a smile with Tien.

"Hey, who's the gramps?" Bulma asked, noticing the unfamiliar face. Supreme Kai's and Kibito's turned mortified and the explosive reaction from Elder Kai made them both wince.

"How dare you!?" he yelled and everyone sans Beranise and Piccolo bent backwards. "This generation has _no_ manners, I tell you! And to think I once let the fate of the entire universe hinge on a kiss from that one." he whispered to Supreme Kai, nearly not quietly enough.

"What was that?" Bulma asked, even though she did not really want him to repeat what she thought she heard.

"I'm afraid my elder is not used to the...forwardness of Earthlings." Supreme Kai stated.

"Tell me about it." Jaco folded his arms and ignored the glare Bulma gave him.

[...]

"What do you mean we're down to four!? We haven't even started fighting yet!" Beerus was screaming at Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo and Monaka, as Buu fell asleep at the desk and on the test he was meant to fill out.

"We couldn't do anything about it. Once Buu falls asleep, there's no waking him up. Trust me, we've gone through this before." Goku explained.

"I told you he wasn't a good choice for our team, but you wouldn't listen, would you!" Vegeta told him.

"Don't blame me! You're the one who suggested the stupid test!" Goku shot back and Vegeta could not argue and only let an annoyed grunt out.

"Rrgh. That's enough!" Beerus angrily told them. "It means you're responsible for an extra opponent!"

"Lord Beerus…" Whis addressed him.

"What do you want?" Beerus asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, but we have to decide the order of our contestants." Whis reminded him.

"Hey, wait! Can't we just asks someone to fill in for Buu?" Goku spoke. "Like, Beranise!"

"Yes." Vegeta agreed she would be the ideal choice.

"I'm sorry, but no new entries are allowed past this point. And besides..." Whis looked to the side. "I believe our female Saiyan is not interested in participating...as unusual as that may be, considering the species." he added and they noticed Beranise was spying on Vados, hiding behind different objects, moving closer to her with every new cover she took. Vegeta balled his fists, cursing. And Goku put his own palm to his forehead, lightly laughing.

"I guess it can't be helped." he commented. Beerus let out a frustrated scream and Champa shot the gong with a small energy blast to start the opening ceremony. As the lights were dimmed for the very brief anthem, Beranise snuck even closer.

"What is that mortal doing?" the Supreme Kai of the Sixth Universe wondered out loud, from where he was seated with the other Kais, separate from everyone else, as they briefly followed the strange behavior. The referee announced Goku and Botamo as the first contestants to face off against each other. Beranise started fidgeting, behind the edge of the platform, much like Goku, when he met Monaka. And in the same way he had issues controlling himself, Beranise was losing all will to contain herself. The moment Beerus and Champa sounded the gong, shooting it at the same time, she dashed.

"Train me!" she appeared in front of Vados, on one knee, with her hands gripping the seat on both sides of her, looking up at her with an almost desperate look. Champa was startled, as were most of the warriors sitting close by, except Hit. Vados regarded her with an amused expression.

"I'm sorry. And...you are?" she asked.

"I'm the best student you'll ever have!" Beranise jumped to her feet.

"Eh?" Champa sounded skeptical about the claim.

"Present company _included_." Beranise added, with a glance at Champa.

"What!?" Champa quickly took offense and Beranise gave him a quick smirk, then stared Vados down.

"Ah, you must be the Saiyan girl my brother mentioned." Vados noted and Cabba got more intrigued by her appearance. "He told me you were excited to meet me in person." she recalled.

"Excited with _three exes_!" Beranise exclaimed.

"Pardon?" Vados did not understand.

"Nevermind!" Beranise got closer to her with every brief sentence. "Train me! Now!" She backed off. "Or...you know. After this. Whaddayousay?" she put her hands on her hips, glowing with expectation.

"Excuse me, but...you seem a little...inadequate for consideration." Vados flatly rejected her and everyone could have sworn they heard something shatter. Beranise's face darkened and she was momentarily stunned, but she suddenly started grinning and let out a brief, guttural laugh, before powering up. Vados' hair was blowing backwards, as were Champa's ears, who stared with curiosity and some annoyance at the sudden display. After a surprised yell, Cabba shielded himself with his hands and Magetta nearly fell off the edge of the platform, where he was sitting. Frost showed some alarm, while Hit briefly opened his eyes and looked up at what was happening a few feet away. Beranise slammed her hands on either side of Vados, looming over her with a golden mane and no brows, a Super Saiyan 3. Goku and Botamo stopped their old-fashioned stare-down to give the situation an odd stare, along with the rest.

"What is she doing?" Vegeta asked, annoyed at the distraction.

"What in the heck is she doing?" Bulma asked from their platform.

"Auditioning, perhaps." Whis stated, back at their own platform.

"Hmm. A little better. But not _quite_ enough." Vados said with a hint of teasing in her voice and Beranise instantly reverted to normal from her spirit being crushed and looked at her, defeated.

"Oh, my! It looks like you couldn't keep it up. How embarrassing." Vados pouted, placing a finger in front of her own lips. Beranise deflated and her eyes started twitching. Whis placed a hand to his mouth. Goku pressed his teeth together in worry, having flashbacks of the time Beranise set Vegeta off with a comment similar in nature. The latter actually let out of brief chuckle and Bulma put a hand to her mouth in shock as silence fell over the arena. Even the two Destroyers gaped. Beranise bolted from the spot, trailing an air of utter shame and embarrassment one could cut with a knife. She shot all the way down, crashing into one of the food-stands, from where she did not move.

"That...was brutal." Krillin quietly stated.

"Well..." Whis repeated himself. "That's my sister for you."

"And they call _me_ the Destroyer." Beerus muttered. Goku and Botamo turned their attention back at each other and all others turned theirs on them as the match commenced in earnest. As the fight went on, Beranise was lying in a heap of confectionary. She started slowly stuffing her mouth with any at arm's reach, disheartened and comically weeping.

"I guess it's all _universal_ comfort-food." Bulma commented as she could see her inside the collapsed stand. Meanwhile, Goku was struggling with Botamo, giving the rest of the representatives of the latter's universe the impression he was rather weak.

" _We may all be Saiyans, but it looks like our universe produced a version that is much stronger."_ Cabba thought to himself. _"But, then..."_ he looked towards where Beranise was. _"What was that power she showed back there?"_ He could not make sense of it, even after Goku managed to turn the fight around and throw Botamo out of the ring. The second contestant from the Sixth Universe was introduced, stirring up Z-Fighters and their family with his appearance.

"Wow! That guy looks just like Frieza!" Goku's comment was loud enough for Beranise to snap out of her funk. She stuck her head out, causing some debris and food to roll off of her, along with a portion of the roof. Her demeanor changed as she looked at Frost. Though she never saw Frieza, she could understand the hushed whispers about the resemblance Goku's opponent bore to the former tyrant.

"His face makes me sick." Vegeta voiced his opinion of him and glanced to the side as Beranise landed next to him, disturbed.

"Hey, look!" Champa exclaimed, as he settled back in his seat, after his tantrum. "That Saiyan girl is back from her pity-party." he snickered.

"Oh?" Vados looked at her talking with Vegeta.

"So, you're done moping?" he asked Beranise, whose expression only darkened.

"Is that what he looked like?" she asked.

It took a second for Vegeta to understand her question. "Right. I forgot you never actually saw that bastard." He reminded himself.

"This Frost looks almost exactly like Frieza." Piccolo said.

"We'll see if he _fights_ like him." Vegeta sounded eager to see, despite his prejudicial hatred for the man, whose speech gave the impression he was the exact opposite of what everyone in the Seventh Universe assumed he would be. That he eventually made Goku use his Super Saiyan form showed he was as much of a gifted fighter as Frieza.

"Since when can Saiyans transform like that, Cabba!?" Champa asked the boy, after witnessing Goku's power.

"Since never! I've never even heard of such a thing!" Cabba was as surpised as his god was, then remembered the Saiyan woman. "Wait..." he started, but was interrupted.

"That girl did the same thing!" Champa recalled, in alarm. "But...she was even stronger!" He realized with worry and was holding his head, working off a near nervous breakdown. Of course, their power paled in comparison to his own, but it meant that just one of them could pose a threat and could potentially cost him the tournament.

Given the amount of work Goku had put into both his Super Saiyan form, after their battle on Namek and into his normal state, since being trained by Whis, Frost's power was still impressive, even if it proved to be no match against a Super Saiyan. However, even with the clear advantage Goku had, it came as an unbelievable upset when, by all accounts, he was weakened and knocked out of the ring, by a heavily tired Frost.

"How could he lose!?" Vegeta angrily demanded to know.

"I dunno exactly how strong Frieza was or this Frost guy is, but that didn't look right." Beranise commented, arms folded.

"Maybe too many of Frost's attacks got through. Must've rattled his brain and caused him to lose consciousness." Piccolo said. Chi-Chi ran to her husband's side and Frost left the ring to praise Goku and help him stand with him, raising his hand as a demonstration of honor and sportsmanship. Piccolo was chosen to take over the fighting and entered the ring, after Beerus berated Goku for losing.

Jaco came up and sat next to Vegeta to have a better view of the match and Beranise stood on the side of the platform. All of them watched Frost's every move, under the suspicion there had to be more to his attacks, as his fighting power clearly felt insufficient to ensure the victory he just had, no matter how close the match might have looked, especially given his tiredness. Seeing some old techniques from Piccolo gave Goku a bit of nostalgia and the Namekian even managed to ensnare Frost, seemingly ensuring the success of his final attack, when the tables were turned, once again. Piccolo inexplicably became disoriented and lost his grip on him, stumbling backwards. An opening Frost was quick to exploit and he launched himself at Piccolo, making him miss with his Special Beam Cannon. He ducked under him and delivered a palm-strike to his chest, with a sharp, concentrated blast of energy that shot through Piccolo, taking him out of commission, but still breathing as the referee reported, after he hurried to inspect him. Frost was declared the victor, again.

Any celebrations for the winning side were cut short when Jaco stood and objected to the ruling that made Frost the winner. Upon his insistence and even after threats of destruction from Champa, Vegeta also pressed the referee to investigate claims that Frost used less than honorable means to win both fights. When the poisonous weapon in his body was revealed so was his true nature and Vados' brief explanation was the hand that pulled the facade completely off, to show a villain no different than Frieza. Vegeta stopped the referee from disqualifying Frost and Champa from destroying him, then he took Piccolo's place, making the latter forfeit the match. The latter agreed, knowing Vegeta was better suited to eliminate the conniving leader.

"This guy's even worse than Frieza." Beranise commented with disgust, as Vegeta entered the ring. "And he convinced whole galaxies, while he ransacked their planets and bought 'em up." She had the urge to vaporize Frost before Vegeta could even fight him.

"Yeah. That sure seems worse." Goku quietly said, nodding in agreement. "Frieza didn't even try to act like he was good. He wasn't lying to anyone about the kind of person he was. He was evil. But, anyone could tell from the start. Frost, on the other hand..." Goku clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, mentally cursing himself for being careless. He got even more worried when Frost and Vegeta agreed to a fight without any prohibitions on the use of poison and though Vegeta's power was on par with Goku's own, Frost's poison could still be the deciding factor. Fortunately, Vegeta did not give him the chance to utilize his hidden weapon. Using his superior speed, he easily breached Frost's guard, who barely had any time to be shocked as he was launched from the ring by Vegeta's uppercut. He bounced off the ceiling of the air-dome and hit the ground, barely, but intentionally, left still breathing by Vegeta. The latter pulled his punch, by his own admission. Not being willing to stoop to Frost's level, by using lethal force.

"Hmph." Beranise scoffed. She felt Frost did not deserve mercy. Rules aside.

Beerus avoided another incident between Goku and Monaka by threatening and slapping the former across the platform, preventing him from even talking to the strangely motionless man. Beerus exhaled, questioning fate and what he did to deserve such a stressful string of events. Whis' comment that Beerus agreeing to the tournament might have been the reason for it, certainly did the opposite of relaxing him, compounded even further by an announcement from the referee.

"Now, onto the next match! But, first...let's talk about the rule change!" the referee exclaimed.

"The what!?" Beerus was taken aback and immediately charged towards his brother for an explanation as Vados was erecting a box-shaped barrier around the ring, seemingly confining the fighters in the next match, for reasons unknown. The two Destroyers started a vicious game of lightning-fast rock-paper-scissors, slapping each other's hand with every sign they threw. Out of the corner of her eyes, Vados noticed Frost was attempting to sneak away during the unexpected intermission, while everyone's attention was at the gods. He headed over the cliffs and Vados saw someone was actually tailing him. The Saiyan woman, from earlier, quietly stepped forth and positioned herself on an outcropping. Vados observed with some intrigue as Beranise raised an open hand and a purple energy began glowing in it. Even if it had not been for her charging the energy, her face clearly showed her intent. Alas, she was interrupted as another person appeared, also having followed Frost. Beranise dropped down to hide behind some rocks and watched their exchange, hearing the man's name and the fear and panic from Frost, before an invisible attack rendered him unconscious. Beranise jumped when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hm. My favorite sort of problem; one that handles itself." Beranise whipped around to see Vados, as the latter turned and left without another word. She blinked, being momentarily stunned that she could not even sense her the whole time. She narrowed her eyes and followed her back to the arena, growing frustrated with the enigma she turned out to be. Beerus and Champa were nursing the cramps in their hands from the game they finished, which ended up being a tie. Beranise flew to the spectator platform that seated the families and friends of the fighters and sat down, folding her arms, as her mood was still sour.

"Are...you okay?" Videl asked and Pan made some noises that sounded like a question.

"Fine." Beranise sighed, not wanting to raise her voice at them.

"You don't really handle rejection very well, huh." Bulma commented, without any jest. Beranise let out an annoyed grunt and shot a glare at Bulma, who nervously leaned away and back to the fight as Vegeta unleashed a series of attacks on his new opponent. The resonance created by his foot hitting the metal-man's body made everyone clamp their ears shut. After a self-beating power-up by Magetta, Vegeta soon realized he was a tougher opponent than he initially gave him credit for, having withstood his attacks unscathed. He also figured out why Champa enclosed them in a more confined space, as he had trouble navigating what little room he had left to escape Magetta's continuous lava-spitting, while he stayed away from the barrier itself. He turned Super Saiyan and the heat was rapidly rising, as Magetta began emitting even more of it. Vegeta did not fail to notice its effect.

The lack of air in the upper layer was taking its toll. Upon accusation of cheating, Champa pointed out the bottom of the barrier was open, where air could escape and even though Vegeta was not going to suffocate, he was not going to stand for what he perceived to be an insult and a lack of faith from the gods, in his ability to rise above the situation. He let loose on Magetta and even used his Galick Gun, after everything else was ineffective. Magetta countered his old signature attack and successfully distracted him with a glob of lava that Vegeta managed to cut in half, only to be hit by Magetta's club that sent him plummeting towards the ground. He landed on a piece of debris that the referee ruled to be still part of the ring and therefore was not counted as a ring-out. Thus, Vegeta, of all people, was saved by a technicality; something that was one of the highest of insults he could possibly suffer and he made certain it would never happen, again. He powered up and kept exerting a tremendous amount of energy that began cracking the glass-like barrier, until it shattered, sending shards flying in all directions, including the spectators.

Goku started dodging them, while over at Universe Six's side Cabba stood in front of Vados with his forearms crossed, shielding her. Beranise leapt to her feet in front of the families and projected an energy-barrier, accompanied by a scream, but the shards never hit, as they were stopped in mid-air. Beranise turned to see Whis calmly standing in front of the others, with his staff held up. She glanced around at all of the shards as they were vanishing and looked at him with some annoyance. Whis only raised a brow at her, smiling. Cabba witnessed it, as well. He looked back at Vados, realizing there was no need for his act of chivalry. She beamed at him with amusement.

"You're quite the gentleman." she commented, with a small giggle. Cabba then noticed a wide-eyed Champa was still ducking under a number of shards he narrowly avoided that were sticking out from a spot on the seat he occupied, inches from his head and Cabba could only awkwardly stare at him. He turned back towards the fight and Vegeta.

"Amazing! I can't believe he has _that_ much power!" he exclaimed and Champa got back in his spot, next to Vados, yelling at her.

"This is your fault! You should've made the barrier strong enough to stand up to any attack!" he railed.

"I told you it could be better. But, you were impatient and ridiculed my warning. You called it _perfectionist drivel_." Vados quoted him.

"Well, _ignore_ me, next time!" Champa cried.

"If he has that much power, then..." Cabba looked towards Beranise. "Then, I wasn't simply misjudging what I felt from that woman, after all." he thought out loud and Hit briefly opened his eyes, looking directly at Beranise, before he closed them, again.

The fight flared up, as did Vegeta, who began charging another one of his signature attacks that everyone could recognize just from his pose, as he spread his hands and feet, then locked his hands together at the wrists, palms facing his opponent.

"I get powering-up. But does he really need to scream that long for that attack?" Beranise asked, watching Vegeta, with an almost bored expression.

"Well, you've been at the receiving end of it." Bulma recalled.

"Exactly. And he didn't take his time, _then_." Beranise pointed out.

"Probably a good thing." Bulma commented, thinking of the damage it could have caused. "Anyway, don't _you_ have something like that?" she wondered and all the fighters and former fighters, in the group, also looked curious to hear if she had any special attacks.

"Not…really." Beranise briefly thought about the moment she was going to attack Frost. "Nothing I need _that_ much time to prepare. Don't know why the big metal guy's letting him, either." she said, just as Magetta was engulfed in a red-hot aura and started gathering his own strength. "Oh, great." Beranise muttered.

Despite Magetta's substantial power, durability and size, Vegeta's Final Flash blew him away and nearly off the ring, dazing him. Vegeta flew at him and slammed his fist into the forearm Magetta stilled managed to block with, but the force of the attack was still strong enough that it not only pushed him off, but destroyed the edge of the ring he was standing on, leaving no means for him to find his footing. The insults hurled at him by Vegeta, as he attacked, only made things worse, as they seemed to have done more damage than any of his physical attacks.

Vegeta powered down and returned to their platform, asking for water that Whis materialized in a decanter for him. Beerus congratulated him and it was only then they were made aware of the effect his harsh words had on Magetta, who was sobbing, over at the other side. Whis and Vados began repairing the extensive damage that was done to the ring as Vegeta was getting his face cleaned by Bulma, who was prodding him with a bunched up towel, trying soak up all the sweat, to Vegeta's mild irritation. The families were enjoying a picnic, loudly eating watermelons, the sound of which easily reached Champa's sensitive ears and he started yelling at them to stop. Beerus easily ticked him off with a simple comment on his lack of patience, making Champa come over to him and their trading of insult quickly escalated, along with them. They started ascending all the way to the ceiling of the dome, which they nearly cracked open with their heads, as they were not paying attention to it. Whis and Vados announced they were finished with the repairs and stopped the two from bickering more, at the same time.

The freshly made ring was much larger in size and the two Destroyers agreed to do away with the mid-air out-of-bounds rule, seeing no more need for it. They announced the next fight and the participants, causing a stir amongst the families of the 7th Universe's fighters when they revealed Vegeta's next opponent to be the Sayian, Cabba.

"Woah! Hold on! That kid's a Saiyan, too?" Yamcha asked in surprise. Beranise looked intrigued, as well, mentally noting the lack of a tail on him, as Yamcha said it out loud. The Supreme Kai of Cabba's universe explained their Saiyan race's role and mercenary peace-keepers.

"You're telling me Saiyans actually work for a living, over there?" Bulma sat down next to Chi-Chi, who was angrily biting down on a handkerchief.

"It's not fair! How come we got stuck with the dead-beat Saiyans? Ggh...damn it!" she complained and Bulma just laughed.

"Well, at least, one of them has a paying job." Bulma commented, smiling at Beranise, who turned to her and cracked a smile of her own. Bulma immediately regretted the compliment and let out a small wail as she was suddenly, but carefully tackled and pinned to the ground by Beranise, who was giving her a wolfish grin. Vegeta noticed something caught Cabba's attention and followed his surprised gaze to see Beranise on top of his wife.

"Hey!" Beranise looked up when she heard his voice and grinned at him without even getting off of Bulma.

"Someone's back to their usual self." Videl smilingly noted and it occurred to Beranise that she was indeed feeling good enough to horse around. She jumped to her feet and flew over to the fighters' platform.

"Kind of a mood-swing, if you ask me." Bulma said, sitting up and smoothed her clothes.

Vegeta turned back to Cabba and their fight commenced. The young Saiyan was showing skill equaling that of the Prince, not only in his stance and style, but his technique as well.

"That boy's pretty good." Beranise commented, standing next to Goku.

"Yeah. He's completely even with Vegeta in his normal state!" Goku exclaimed, then something else occurred to him. "Which means he could probably beat _you_ if you'd fought." he added and Beranise shot him a glare, turning sharply towards him with balled fists. "Ah! Hey, sorry!" Goku raised his hands, defensively. "It's just that I kinda noticed you didn't get any stronger in your normal state." Beranise's eye twitched and Goku took a nervous step back. Beranise looked over his shoulder, at Piccolo, to see the hint of a smile, that was practically saying he and Gohan told her so. She grunted and glanced behind them at Whis. After a moment's thought she turned, leaving Goku and Piccolo.

"Hey, you, Whis!" She plopped down on his right, with her left-leg tucked under her and her left-arm resting on the back of the cushioned seat. "You got any tips on how I can get your sister to train me? Bulma told me she bribed _you_ with all sorts of food."

"Oh, I wouldn't call it a _bribe_." Whis dismissed any allegation he could be bought with good cuisine.

"So, is she a foodie like you and _this guy_?" She thumbed at Beerus, whose eye twitched.

 _"This guy?"_ he repeated, offended. "Refer to me so casually, again and I'll turn _you_ into food. Charred meat that even dinosaurs would refuse to eat."

"Bring it, cat-breath!" Beranise leaned forward, in front of Whis and Beerus did the same, baring his teeth, both of them blocking Whis' view, who put his staff between them.

"Let's all enjoy the match, for now." he sternly told them and both kept making faces at each other, after sitting back.

"Check it out! That girl gets on my brother's nerves, heheh, almost as much as I do. I'm starting to like her!" Champa laughed to himself.

"She seems to have little respect for higher authority, as you saw for yourself." Vados reminded him. "I'm not sure you would want to be subjected to that, with your patience." she added.

"Hey, as long as it's Beerus she's annoying." Champa leaned back.

After a Galick Gun-struggle Vegeta commended Cabba for his fighting prowess, confirming what Goku said was true. His excitement was soon ruined and turned to disappointment, though, when Cabba confessed to a lack of ability to become a Super Saiyan. Anger and disgust overcame Vegeta, when the boy started begging to be taught the transformation. Vegeta was incapable of tolerating such groveling from a Saiyan and made his displeasure perfectly clear with every blow he delivered to Cabba, all of them at the edge of mercy, just enough to keep the boy conscious. Bulma and the others began to genuinely worry, not only for Cabba's very life, but about the mental state Vegeta was in and whether or not he reverted to his former self.

"I sure hope Vegeta hasn't forgotten that killing your opponent means you forfeit the match." Beerus commented, almost callously, as victory for his fighter was his main concern.

"Well...it's possible." Whis said, mostly in jest.

"Nah. He's probably just trying to get the kid all worked up, so he'd transform." Beranise leaned back, folding her arms.

"Are you willing to bet the tournament on that?" Whis playful asked. Beranise snorted.

"Hrh. No." she replied.

"She might be right." Piccolo said to Goku, in front of him.

"I hope." Goku looked on, only somewhat less worried.

"Hey, it's what I did to him. And what he did to _me_." Beranise recalled how she provoked Vegeta to go all out and fight her as a Super Saiyan 2, during the World's Martial Arts Tournament. Followed by her own transformation to the same state, after being severely beaten on. But, the Saiyan boy from the sixth universe turned out to be a different case. Anger, the best trigger for the Super Saiyan transformation, did not seem to be something he often experienced and certainly not to an extreme level. Rage was not known to him.

After all the physical abuse failed to properly motivate Cabba, Vegeta resorted to a method his past self was also feared for. He held him up by his collar and was charging and energy blast to finish him with, while he threatened his family, his friends and his whole race with extinction, as the young Saiyan limply hung from his grasp. The reaction was almost instantenous. Cabba's eyes shot wide open and he slapped the energy out of Vegeta's hand, freeing himself from him, at the same time.

"The people of Sadala...are innocent." Cabba said trough gritted teeth. "They have nothing...to do with this."

"Here it comes..." Beranise smirked.

"If you do anything to my home-planet...or my family...I will...MAKE YOU PAY!" he screamed in pure anger and turned Super Saiyan. The first of his universe to do so. He went on the offensive and Vegeta's smirk quickly disappeared as he was caught off guard, when the attack broke through his blocking hands, releasing a concussive force that pushed him back. Cabba pulled his fist back for another swing and energy flickered over it, before he struck.

"Woah!" Beranise exclaimed. "He made his punch stronger with energy." she stated, observing the technique.

"Hey! That's almost like _my_ move!" Yamcha exclaimed. "Sweet!" he added as Cabba was delivering a flurry of punches that were literally creating a slowly rising cloud of smoke as they made contact with Vegeta's blocking hands. He pushed Cabba's hands to the side and bent down to kick his legs from under him and though Cabba lost his footing, he immediately retaliated by standing on his hands and kicked Vegeta upwards. He rushed behind and over him, then slammed him back down, into the floor.

"Hah! That looked familiar." Beranise laughed, remembering how she kept doing the same to Vegeta. Cabba continued to pelt him with a massive energy-barrage, until Vegeta decided it was enough and repelled all of them with a single sweep of his hand. He remained in place as Cabba came back down to charge at him and took the full force of his attack, smiling, then essentially congratulated him on the use of his newfound power. Cabba realized his threats were all an act to anger him, for that was the catalyst he needed, as it was explained by Vegeta. He involuntary reverted to normal as he calmed down and the others were relieved that Vegeta was only training him in his own harsh way. Upon demand from Vegeta, he willed himself to transform, once more, to prove he was able to control it.

A sudden shift in energy enveloped the entire protective dome in a blue light, to the surprise of some, mainly Cabba and Beranise. The former stared in awe at Vegeta, as the latter's new, blue visage was reflected by his own blue, Super Saiyan eyes.

"What the...?" Beranise leaned forward and stood. She was almost having the same kind of feeling she had when she first saw Goku's Super Saiyan 3. The difference in power was one thing, but the energy also felt different. That is, she felt none. She considered that the gap was probably so large she could not even gauge it and it annoyed her more than it angered her, since she also could not tell how far she had to go.

"Wha'd' you think?" Goku turned to her, seeing her face. "Not bad, huh?" Beranise frowned, pretending she was not too bothered or impressed by it.

"Meh. Blue's not really my color." she said, as if she was not even interested in attaining the form, simply because of its appearance.

"Heh. You said blonde wasn't your color, either. But, you're already handling Super Saiyan 3." Goku saw through her and Beranise indignantly folded her arms, looking away. They turned when they heard, rather than sensed, Vegeta punching Cabba in the gut. It happened in less than a blink of an eye and the boy lost consciousness just after hearing Vegeta tell him to remember the pain and to let it activate him. He collapsed and was lying motionless as the referee checked his vital signs, then declared Vegeta the victor. The latter went to bring some water that he splashed on Cabba to wake him up, as Beerus was gloating over his universe's winning streak.

Beranise looked over to Vados, feeling an even stronger desire to improve herself, after witnessing how far a Saiyan can go. And as Vegeta was telling Cabba to aim higher, so it became her goal, as well. The same thought that first helped her ascend occupied her thoughts, once again. The need to become stronger, not just for sport or pride, but to better protect those she cared about and those who could not protect themselves. Cabba promised Vegeta he would, one day, introduce him to the King of his Saiyan race and left the ring to join Vados and Champa.

Champa barely finished complaining to Vados about the latter's promise of a Hexahedron to their universe's last remaining contestant, who took to the ring, when Beranise's sudden appearance made him shriek in surprise as she leaned in front of his unfazed Attendant, hands pressed against the top of the seat on both sides of her. Beranise's expression was not her usual playful one or desperate, either.

"You're gonna train me." she told Vados, matter-of-factly. "Your brother is pulling up the two guys who just pummeled most of your fighters. And anything _they_ can do, _I_ can do, too." She leaned closer.

"You sound a little insecure." Vados told her with some coyness. "Eager to work on your shortcomings?" she smiled.

"Hey, I'm not doing it for sport, like those two! They just wanna fight everyone." Beranise thumbed back towards Goku and Vegeta.

"And your motivations are more noble?" Vados was not convinced.

"Some of 'em." Beranise glanced away. Admittedly it was not all for the sake of being able to protect others.

"Do tell." Vados prompted her.

"Like you care about anyone's reasons!" Beranise confronted her. "You hired _this_ trash for your team, when you knew what he was, all along." she nodded at the bruised and unconscious Frost, who did not even register anything going on around him.

"True. I do have the luxury of not necessarily having to take a person's morality into consideration. After all, Lord Champa, here _was_ my student." she looked at the Destroyer, next to her, who was not amused by her small dig at him.

"Well, at least, you don't pretend to be a saint or some guardian angel." Beranise straightened, folding her arms.

"You don't know the irony of your words." Vados chuckled, considering she and her brother were, for a lack of a better term, Angels.

"Yeah? You can tell me all about it, then. While you train me." Beranise insisted, sitting between Vados and Cabba. "I'll bring some Earth-food. We can have a picnic." she added, with some snide, facing the latter and resting her arm closely behind her. Such ingratiating was not her usual approach. Not for training, nor for wooing someone. Vados did not fail to notice her body-language and from that, her intent, realizing what was motivating her, besides the blood she shared with the other two Saiyans. She remained silent as she saw Beerus was preparing to shoot the gong. Beranise noticed it, as well and quickly charged a blast at her own finger-tip, which she used to knock Beerus' blast off course, surprising the latter. He blinked, then glared their way, likely thinking it was his brother's. Only then he saw it was her as she shot the gong. With the same finger she pulled the bottom of her right eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at him. Beerus gritted his teeth and saw his brother was chuckling to himself.

"You're either very brave or very reckless, provoking a God of Destruction that way." Cabba commented.

"Hey, he didn't start out as a god. He trained. And if he had to train to get there, I can eventually kick his ass." Beranise flippantly said and Cabba stared at her confidence, which even Champa found more surprising than insulting, considering his own status.

"And...begin!" the referee exclaimed and Vegeta immediately turned Super Saiyan Blue. Beranise punched Cabba in the arm as Vegeta remained in place.

"Good fight, there, by the way! You got some moves, kid." she told him.

"T-thanks." Cabba took the compliment.

Vegeta was trying to sense when to attack, only to find his opponent did not have any openings, as Hit's guard was perfect.

"Reminds me of _me_ , when _we_ fought. Had to piss him off, just so he'd go all out." Beranise recalled.

"Wait...you're stronger than him?" Cabba asked in astonishment, misunderstanding her.

"No. Not, yet, anyway. But when we met I could only turn Super Saiyan. And he could take it up to the next level. Super Saiyan 2." Beranise explained.

"Super Saiyan 2?" Cabba took note of the different stages, recalling the one Beranise briefly used. "Then, why did you make him use all of his power? Weren't you completely outmatched?" Cabba asked.

"Yeah. Until all the beating I got from him and something he said made me transform, too." Beranise explained, not seeing the glance Vados gave her.

"So...you used him to become stronger and even the odds, in the middle of the fight." Cabba summarized.

"Saiyans 101. That and getting beaten half to death also gives us a boost. You kinda notice these things, after the first couple of times it happens." Beranise gave some trivia. "Maybe the Saiyans in your universe are different."

"It's...possible." Cabba mulled it over.

It did not take long for Vegeta to run out of patience and feel the need to rush in with his full power. It took even less time for Hit to make it seem inconsequential. With a move no one could even follow, he stopped Vegeta's attack, before it even reached him. Even for those with trained eyes, it seemed unbelievably fast.

"Hit is quite impressive." Vados commented and Beranise glanced at her with a jealous frown, then continued to observe Hit as he countered all of Vegeta's attempts.

Even in his Super Saiyan Blue state, the latter seemed to be thoroughly outclassed, particularly in speed, as Hit's movements appeared instantaneous, including his attacks. Hit put his hands in his pockets. Not an act of over-confidence, but a sign he was done with the fight and certain of his victory, without the need to inflict any further harm on his opponent. It was taken as mockery by Vegeta, who was not forfeiting the fight, especially not on his opponent's suggestion. He felt humiliated enough and he was barely standing, but everyone knew he was far too proud and stubborn to quit or to collapse. He had to be forced. Hit delivered a final blow, without giving so much as a sign that he was going to attack. Such were Vegeta's last thoughts, before he lost consciousness and reverted to normal. Another upset that his family and friends bore witness to and could hardly believe, as not even the fighters among them had any idea what happened in the ring.

Trunks rushed to his father's side with a towel and Goten carried the water, as Goku told Krillin to help by giving Vegeta a Senzu-bean. While they were tending to him, Goku and Jaco tried to make sense of what happened, being unable to tell what Hit did. The Galactic King revealed to them the rare ability of time-skipping and that Hit was likely an individual who possessed it.

"Tch. Some _gimmick._ " Beranise was not impressed. "Take _that_ outta the picture and the fight's even."

"It is a natural ability he was born with." Vados said. "Much like the inherent trait Saiyans all have."

"Oh, come on! That's different." Beranise argued. "We just pick things up in combat and get stronger with it. And if we get beaten to within an inch of our lives. We're not _hopping around in_ _ **time**_!" she exclaimed.

Back on the Seventh Universe's side, Beerus was growing more worried and also irritated, as Whis refused to give any helpful hints on how they could possibly fight someone like Hit, but he noticed Goku was formulating a plan as he entered the ring and despite the stakes of the tournament he was eager to see how the match would unfold. After the introductions and awkward formalities from Goku, the decisive battle began with him testing Hit's senses and reaction. Every attempt Goku made quickly left him clutching spots on his body that Hit continued to strike with precision. Hit even noted that no one was able withstand such attacks on their body's weak-points, indefinitely, no matter how strong or resilient they are. He told Goku to forfeit, same as he did with Vegeta, but Goku was not only just as stubborn, he seemed to have figured out a way to effectively fight back. Hit's next counter-attack failed to hit its mark, tainting his spotless record of never missing. Something he called a fluke, until Goku succeeded in not only blocking him, again, but grazing him, in return, much to everyone's shock, awe and even anger, in Vegeta's case.

"Oh, no! Come on, Hit!" Champa was screaming in panic. Goku explained to a surprised Hit that he simply predicted his movements based on earlier observation.

"Hmhm." Beranise internally chuckled. "Good old-fashioned instinct and guess-work. See!" she elbowed Vados, who appeared mildly surprised by the contact. "We don't need any fancy time-skipping."

"It is an effective gamble, so far." Vados agreed, but doubted it would be enough and Champa was muttering curses as he sat back. Hit took a serious stance and Goku turned Blue, starting the new phase of their fight. After suffering more attacks, Hit had to admit that without the advantage provided by his time-skip, the fight became considerably harder for him and Beranise snickered. Champa questioned Vados whether they still had a chance at victory and after pretending she could not tell, merely to agitate the Destroyer, her only reply was that she would not count their fighter out of the tournament, yet. Hit suddenly started screaming, as if he was powering up, but no one could rightly tell what exactly he was doing, even as a purple aura flared around him.

After the theatrics, he clashed with Goku and exchanged several strong blows, before he halted his next assault with an unexpectedly fast and strong punch, burying his fist in Goku's stomach. The latter doubled over in pain and the referee nearly called the end of the match, but Goku claimed he was not finished. Again, everyone was at a complete loss as to what happened, until Hit explained he was not capable of becoming stronger through transformation. Vados confirmed all the screaming he did was merely for showmanship. Hit went on to state that power, alone, meant nothing without improving one's skill. With his own words, he did it the old fashioned way and improved his in the middle of combat. The similarity of his ability to do so to that of the Saiyans' was immediately apparent to all.

"Well, would you look at that!" Vados looked at Beranise from the corner of her eyes. "He did it the old-fashioned way and improved his skill, along with his odds." she added and Champa cheered, as Beranise was grinding her teeth.

"Well, it's still different." Beranise held her nose up and to the side, then looked down at Cabba, who was giving her a pitying look. "Right?" she leaned above him, trying to coerce an agreement.

"I-I don't...think so." he meekly, but honestly replied.

"Hrrrmm..." Beranis growled at him and leaned back.

"After all, he was born with the ability. It's a part of him." Cabba tried to echo Vados.

"Yeah? Well, unless every member of whatever race he's from also has it, then it's not a trait, like ours." Beranise huffed, pulling her arm from behind Vados and folded them.

"It is simply a skill that makes him an even more dangerous fighter than he already is." Vados spoke. "By his own admission, he cannot grow stronger by transforming. Or by recovering from nearly fatal injuries with a substantial boost." she emphasized the last part for Beranise, who frowned. "If everyone shared that trait, then I'd wager that half your Earthling friends would surely be stronger than-..."

"Alright! Alright!" Beranise cut her off, annoyed. But, the point was made.

The fight still had not resumed. Despite being continually told by Champa, Hit refused to deliver a final blow to Goku and he even told him to get up from the ground, saying he was showing him gratitude for enabling him to grow. To prove the odds were truly in his favor, once more, Hit unleashed a series of strikes Goku was unable to block, because Hit was no longer skipping twice as much as he could, before, but five-times a tenth of a second, instead. Goku was down, again. Hit told the referee he should not hesitate to call the match and declare Goku unable to continue, making him the victor. But, to his surprise, Goku was suddenly on his feet. Hit called him far too stubborn for his own good, but Goku explained he had a trump card he did not want to use until it was absolutely necessary and not even the Destroyers, nor their Attendants had any idea what sort of technique or transformation he was preparing to do. Vados, in particular, verbally doubted he could have possibly discovered another transformation, beyond Super Saiyan Blue.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Beranise said, even though the gap between them bothered her, but clearly not as much as it did Vegeta, who already suspected what Goku was about to do. "I didn't even know the transformation I did _was_ the Super Saiyan, until I met _them_. Then I saw the guy go _two_ levels above that. Levels that I didn't even know there were. And now there are _four_!" she exclaimed, holding up as many fingers.

"Wow...!" Cabba whispered as they watched Goku focus his energy for something. "Then, there is no telling how strong a Saiyan can become." he stated with awe and anticipation.

"Damn right." Beranise spread her arms, resting them behind Vados and Cabba.

Goku succeeded in utilizing his Kaioken technique and multiplied the power of his Super Saiyan Blue. A frightening display that not only made Hit extremely worried, but Beerus', as well, who was annoyed that Goku was planning to eventually use it against him. Both fighters have risen to new heights, over the course of the match and the same way Hit was overwhelming Goku, only minutes ago, Goku was, now, returning everything, viciously connecting all of his attacks and Hit seemed helpless against it. However, Goku was fully aware he was going on borrowed time, as the Kaioken took a huge toll on his body. He had to end the fight, as fast as he could, so he followed up his relentless assault on Hit with a classic Kamehameha.

"I have no idea how he has the time for that." Beranise muttered as Goku charged and released his signature attack. The resulting shockwave shattered the dome and nearly sucked the platforms and their occupants away into space, were it not for the intervention of Whis and Vados, who pulled everything together and sealed the hole. Both fighters were smashed against and stopped by the large stone pictures of their respective universe's Destroyer God. Hit was able to escape Goku's attack, at the last moment, by evolving his technique, yet again and swore he would continue to do so. Goku held him to that promise and extended a fist for him to meet with his own, as a show of sportsmanship. Much to the shock of his own universe's Supreme Kai, Hit smiled and met Goku halfway, bumping his fist, then retreated to assume an improved stance. Whis even commented that the two were so evenly matched it was frightening.

"Hey, Hit!" Champa started yelling. "He can't keep this Kaioken-thing up for long. There's no need to mix it up with him. If you just move around and stay out of reach for a bit, you're sure to win!" he told him.

"Honorable advice, Lord Champa." Vados said.

"Is that sarcasm?" Champa could tell she was not being sincere.

"My, my! What a keen observation!" Vados mockingly exclaimed.

"Please, Lord Champa, reconsider!" Cabba got up and stood in front of him, pleading. "Hit wouldn't want a win like that. He's a very proud man, Sir." Cabba immediately recoiled in fear as Champa pointed a finger at him, his anger and dark energy rising.

"I don't care! This contest is between me and Beerus. You keep your ego in check!" he told him, being somewhat hypocritical. Beranise narrowed her eyes at him and balled a fist that Vados noticed. "Listen up! Okay?" Champa started addressing everyone. "You worthless people are nothing more than pawns in our little game." He let slip his opinion of them and it was the glare from Goku and Hit that silenced him and sent him stumbling back in the seat, gawking.

"It doesn't really matter does it?" Vados asked him.

"What are you trying to say?" Champa raised his voice, again, in panic that he was going to lose the tournament.

"What I mean is, you are able to punish them anytime, if you so choose. But, at the moment, I'm personally much more interested in seeing how this contest, here, plays out. Aren't you?" she reasoned and Champa did not say anything, but seemed to be convinced and in agreement.

"You got a silver tongue." Beranise commented, leaning closer to Vados. The latter's argument gave her enough time to calm herself down, as well. At least, they all knew where they stood with the Gods, despite any superficial comradery.

Goku and Hit decided they would not be pawns. Both of them would continue their match as they saw fit. They started powering up, making the entire arena shake.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the dome shattered, again, from the sheer force of their intensity." Vados commented and Beranise made a face. Normally she would have been annoyed by her almost gushing over them, had she not sounded somewhat sensual.

Hit got the better of Goku, pushing his time-skip even further and continued htting him until his aura vanished from a lack of concentration and strain. He began dropping out of the air and hit closed his eyes, believing the fight was, at last, over, but Goku flexed, stopping his own fall and flared his energy, again. Before Hit could be any more surprised he got a punch in the face that sent him reeling backwards into the large stone picture of Champa, getting embedded in the forehead of his image. Both destroyers screamed. Champa from worry and Beerus cheered. Hit pried himself free and landed back in the ring, barely being able to stand. Goku's body started to cramp up and he dropped down, also having difficulty standing and yet he managed not only to stand tall, but to make a rather unusual and potentially dangerous request. He asked Beerus to lift all the rules for the tournament and the Sixth Universe' Supreme Kai realized that because of the rules Hit was not able to use the full range of his techniques. He was not allowed to use lethal force, which prevented him from showing off his full potential, as Elder Kai put it.

"Hmhm." Beranise chuckled. "He's barely standing and he's literally asking for more trouble. That's the way!" she exclaimed.

"This is crazy…" Cabba whispered.

Goku apologized to Hit for not realizing sooner that he was still holding back, because of the rules. The latter, in turn, questioned if he was afraid that he might die, but Goku only told him he would not get to him, again. They heard Champa's voice from above them, as he was praising their spirit of sportsmanship. He was going to gladly remove the rules, but Beerus interrupted him, accusing him of only being eager to do so, because it would give his side the advantage, whereas Champa was correct in saying that keeping the rules in place was to Beerus' advantage. Goku even walked over to Hit, as the brothers were bickering, to say a few friendly words and to promise him a good fight the next time they met, where they would not be pawns. After which, he went to the edge of the ring and jumped off, purposefully putting himself out of bounds and surprising Hit, again. Since the rules were still technically in effect, the referee declared Hit the winner. Goku immediately felt the price his body had to pay for his Kaioken technique, as his muscles started to cramp up, making him fall to the ground, in pain, unable to move. Piccolo came to his side to help him to the platform, as they announced the final match of the tournament and Monaka as its participant. Beerus could not even watch.

It did not take Hit much to see through Monaka and tell he was not a fighter, at all, after the spectacularly awkward entrance he made and yet, when Monaka mustered the courage to swing a fist at him, Hit did something he never would have done, under any other circumstance, in his thousand years of living. He threw himself backwards and out of ring, against the dome of the arena, feigning injury and losing the match on purpose, giving everyone the appearance he was beaten with a single blow. All present, who were not privy to the truth about the little alien were convinced by the act, except for Vados and Champa. The latter stared daggers into Hit as he made his way back to him and told him he no longer had need of the hexahedron that was promised to him. He asked Champa to simply let him go home, but the latter was far too furious with all of them to possibly be reasoned with.

"Oh, I see! You're quite the jokester, aren't you?" Champa asked and produced a purple energy ball from his palm.

"So, that's how you wanna play this?" Hit was resigned to his possible fate, being destroyed by the God, as he took a stance, readying himself for it and Cabba was already standing with Beranise, while Vados remained seated. Magetta and Botamo were standing behind Hit, fearing their end. Frost was still unconscious.

"Over and over, again, you ignored my direct orders. And as if that weren't bad enough, you lost in the final round. There's no way I'm letting you leave this place alive!" Champa threatened Hit and Goku noticed what was going on as Cabba stood between them.

"Lord Champa, please, I'm begging you!" he held up his hands, but Champa aimed the energy at his face.

"That goes for you two, too. Each and every one of you so-called fighters has failed and humiliated me!" he complained. "And for that I'm going to destroy all of you!" Champa made a second ball, with his other hand.

"Try it, fat cat!" Beranise instantly turned Super Saiyan 3 and her voice became rougher. "Let's see how many of us can you take down before we stop you. Don't be surprised if the numbers aren't too high." she challenged him and Champa became even angrier, if that was even possible.

"You got a mouth on you!" Champa told her and prepared to release the energy he held.

"You can't!" Goku shouted from their platform.

"Now, Goku…" Beerus stopped him. "Don't go stepping out of line, forgetting your place."

"Yeah, but Lord Beerus, we can't just stand by!" Goku said.

"Look, you all did well enough, in your own way. And for that you have my praise." Beerus told him. "But the competition's over now. Which means your time in the spotlight has come to an end."

"That's right!" Champa said. "So, from here on out we, gods, are back in charge and running the show, again. You got that!? We make the rules around here. While you stupid puppets shut up and do as you're told!" Champa started to laugh, maniacally.

"That being said, if you wanted to challenge a Destroyer to a duel, in order to change the rules, then I feel certain we can arrange something." Beerus told Goku, who glared at him, to which Beerus only gave a smug and wicked grin, knowing that none of them could do anything about it. Beranise was ready to shut Champa's mouth with her foot, when Vados spoke.

"Lord Champa!" she tried to get his attention, after something caught hers, but Champa carried on.

"I'm ready if you are!" Champa told everyone who dared to stand up to him. "I even let you use time-skip or go Super Saiyan or any other gimmick you want."

"Lord Champa, look!" Vados tried, again.

"It doesn't matter, I'll destroy everything! I'll show you first-hand the magnitude of terror a Destroyer can bring down!" Champa continued.

"Lord Champa!" Vados raised her voice.

"Sheesh! What is it!?" Champa yelled at her and Vados pointed towards a figure standing in the ring, whose surprise appearance struck fear into both Destroyers. Beranise and some of the others glanced back and forth between them, as they were freaking out, not understanding the drastic change in their behavior, nor the gravity of the situation.

"Grand Zeno!" Beerus and Champa exclaimed and after the former briefly explained who they were dealing with to a mortified Piccolo and Vegeta, both Destroyers and their Attendants went to greet the Omni-King of all universes.

"Weirdos." Beranise muttered and powered down to normal, then slowly joined the others in the ring to bear witness to the spectacle of the mighty Gods of Destruction being threatened with demotion and worse, for their lack of commitment to their work. The testimony and criticism from their very attendants, describing their laziness, only worsened the embarrassing situation. Fortunately for them, the highest being in the universe liked to joke around with threats to end their very existence and he also found their secret tournament entertaining. With all that he has seen, he decided to hold a tournament of a much larger scale. One where all the universes and their strongest fighters would compete. It came as no surprise to some that Goku stepped forward, positively in favor of the idea and boldly approached the creator of everything, giving the two gods and the kais a heart attack with his forwardness and utter lack of manners to even call the being by his title or at least his name. Universe-ending catastrophe was avoided only because Zeno happened to find Goku likable. The two shook hands, sealing the deal to hold a multi-universe tournament and everyone finally let out a sigh of relief as the Omni-King and his two bodyguards bid them farewell. The Gods and Kais thanked their luck they all still existed. Neither of the Gods could even be bothered to be upset or felt like bragging about the results of their little tournament, anymore, that paled in comparison to what the Omni-King had planned. They considered the victories of the day meaningless in the grander scheme of things that were yet to come. Champa held up his end of the deal and relinquished the six Super Dragon Balls to Beerus, then walked off.

"Come on, losers!" he called to his fighters. "If Grand Zeno likes to watch, then I'll just have to bring you to the next one and hope you wouldn't suck!" he berated them and Cabba went to Vegeta to say his farewells.

"Come to Planet Sadala, whenever you want, Master! I can show you around!" he offered him, enthusiastically.

"I never told you I would be your Master, pipsqueak." Vegeta replied.

"Right. Sorry, Master!" Cabba did not seem to get his message, as he felt far too indebted to him and Vegeta groaned. Goku walked over to Hit but failed to get any response from him concerning a rematch, as the latter left with a groan, as well. The rest of the fighters from his universe joined him and started leaving, getting a wave from Goku, who then noticed Beranise was standing between them, glancing from Vados, to him, to Videl and Pan, then to rest, hesitant about which side she should leave with. Goku blinked, seeing she was having trouble deciding.

"Beranise…?" Videl asked, noticing her nervous idling and Beranise kept looking back and forth between them and Vados, who stopped, apparently waiting for her decision, which meant she agreed to train her and Beranise realized it, as well, making her choice even harder.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Champa turned, when he noticed Vados stopped. "Huh?" He looked at Beranise.

"You're gonna go train, right?" Goku grinned and Beranise flew over to Videl and Pan, who looked up at her with a sad face.

"You're going with them, aren't you?" Videl asked and Beranise did not want to say, as Pan looked like she already missed her.

"I'll come back." Beranise placed a hand on her little head, calming her. "I don't know when. But, hey, I'm a fast learner, so…" she smiled, briefly cupped Videl's chin and winked, before flying off to join Vados. "See you guys later!" she shouted. "And kick _your_ asses, later!" She smirked at Goku and Vegeta, who returned it. "Yours, too!" she threw half a nod at Beerus, who slightly narrowed his eyes, giving her only a mild glare. She waved one last time to Pan and Videl, before leaving.

[…]

All beings from the Sixth Universe, plus Beranise boarded the hexahedron and started their journey back, flying by stars and galaxies as if they were mere streetlights.

"So…the big-cheese of all there is, is a weird-looking little kid…guy." Beranise commented, arms folded. "Weird, huh?" she looked at Hit, who did not dignify her observation with a reply.

"Yes. Very weird." Cabba muttered, only so someone would.

"You're lucky he can't hear you!" Champa told her. "Or you wouldn't even exist, anymore!"

"He can't hear and see everything, then? Also good to know." Beranise added it to the admittedly rather short list of things she found out about gods, their attendants and other higher beings.

"Why?" Cabba sensed some malice in her tone.

"It's good to know so-called gods aren't all powerful." Beranise said and Champa's ears moved, but he only glared at her from the corner of his eyes, without turning. "Whis told me even _he_ has his limits, so I guess that goes for the rest of whatever race he is." Vados glanced at her and Beranise caught her eyes, before she turned back.

"You're not seriously thinking of challenging them?" Cabba asked, obviously terrified of their power.

"Why not? Goku already had a fight with Beerus and he lived to tell about it. That means, they can be beaten." Beranise told him with some seriousness.

"But, why would you want to?" Cabba still did not understand her reasons. Hit opened his eyes to look at her, also curious of her answer, when Vados' staff began emitting a signal of sort.

"Can it be?" she was surprised by the new development and brought the hexahedron to a sudden halt, interrupting any conversation. Champa smashed into the side, face-first.

"Come on! I nearly broke my _face_!" she yelled at Vados.

"There's something I need to show you." Vados stated and tapped her staff, once, bringing up an image of Earth.

"Yeah, yeah. Beerus' Earth. Why would I wanna see that?" Champa irately asked.

"Trust me, you do." Vados insisted.

"Okay. What is it?" Champa prompted her.

"You're looking at Earth in the Sixth Universe, my Lord." Vados revealed.

"Eh…?" Champa was perplexed, as it was previously established that the planet was desolate. Destroyed by its own inhabitants, long ago.

"And this is a live view." Vados pointed out. "The planet has been brought back to good health, along with its people."

"Is this some kind of joke." Champa was skeptical.

"Hardly, Sir." Vados assured him. "And now it seems their civilization is very similar to the Seventh's." she described.

"If that's really true…" Champa began putting it together.

"They should be producing culinary delights, which we can enjoy as much as we like." Vados voiced his thoughts.

"But, how is this possible?" Champa still could not fathom how the planet was suddenly restored.

"It's only logical." Vados said. "Your brother has decided to use his Super Dragon Balls' wish for your benefit, Lord Champa." Vados' explanation was followed by one of the balls shooting past them, as it scattered with the rest. Champa sighed, as did Beranise.

"There goes my bargaining chip." she said.

"Yes, what a tricky move." Champa remarked. "He wants to lord it over me. That smug little devil." he grinned as they moved on.

"Now, she won't need me to bring her Earth-food from _our_ universe, damn it." Beranise complained. "Hey!" she called to Vados. "I can still give you a tour, over there. Kind of." she told her, even though it was not the Earth she came to know. Vados raised an eyebrow as she turned to give her a glance, amused by her attempt to save whatever bargaining power she had left.

"I'm sure that's not the only reason they let you come with us." Cabba told her, encouragingly and their voices began receding in the vastness of space.

"If they won't keep me, I'll…hold a planet at ransom!" Beranise plotted.

"What!?" Cabba stiffened.

"I'm kidding!" Beranise told him as the hexahedron slowly disappeared into the horizon.

THE END

(of Part 2 in Beranise's Saga.)

To be Continued…


End file.
